A Very Riviera Christmas
by Feral Phoenix
Summary: When Ein finally returns to Elendia in time for Christmas, a peaceful life seems within reach at last. He just wasn't counting on getting snowed in with his six best friends during a blizzard... Mostly LxE with some onesided ExF and ExC.
1. Home Again

A Very Riviera Christmas

DISCLAIMER: Don't own, nopes. If I did own, Ein would have had a wish during the scene at the very end of the game... but needless to say, I don't. Which sucks.

WARNING: Rose ending spoilers. Shonen-ai. And have I mentioned that I've made _one _minor story tweak...?

In the small town of Elendia, home to many peaceful Sprites and fairies, autumn had drawn to a close and winter had at last set in. It was December, and the snows were due any day now, with Christmas and then the remembrance feasts for the gods closing in. But the ground was still cold and dry, with dead leaves strewn haphazardly around the many trees that lined (and in some cases, were) the villagers' homes.

In front of one such house--a large, venerable hollowed-out oak--a young woman was attempting to do something about that problem.

She meandered absently over the path directly before her home, sweeping leaves out of her way with a worn, twiggy broom. She was dressed conservatively in a long blouse and dress, with a modest ladies' jacket laced tightly over her torso. Her frill-edged skirts were the same pale green as her hair; the sleeves of her blouse, which puffed softly at her shoulders, were pristine white. She also had on long gray stockings and sensible, leather shoes with three-inch heels. Her hair, long and straight, fell almost to her knees; it was fastened in the back with a large, black bow made from a scrap of silken ribbon. Her large, liquid dark green eyes were half-closed, and she had a not-quite-there look on her face, evidently daydreaming.

"Hmmm..." she said quietly to herself as she worked. "I wonder what Ein's doing right now..."

"Fia!" a girl's voice called from further down the road. "Fiiiiiiaaa!"

Fia, still sweeping and now softly humming, took no notice.

"FIIIIIIAAAA!"

A younger girl came charging down the way, her bright orange double ponytails bouncing with every bounding step she took. She wore a bright yellow tunic over a tighter black underdress, with a red bandanna tied around her neck. The tunic's sleeves had been removed and adapted by Fia to serve as separate garments, in the style of the newly popular "armwarmers" that Riviera's young women had been wearing recently. She, too, had on black stockings, and small, more childishly styled leather shoes. Her ponytails were fastened with black bows much like the one Fia was wearing, and her black headband was made from similar material. Her features were honest and open, her light brown eyes wide and happy, and her cheeks flushed and ruddy with activity. Squealing with joy, she tackled the eighteen-year-old Fia, throwing her arms around the older girl's waist.

Fia squeaked and dropped her broom, stepping backwards in an attempt to balance herself. She just barely succeeded, putting her hands on the thirteen-year-old who'd attacked her's shoulders. "Eeek! L...Lina! What are you so excited about all of a sudden?"

Lina bounced happily up and down, still hugging Fia. "There are people coming down the road! Lina saw them! We're gonna have guests for Christmas! Yaaaay!"

"Calm down," Fia begged uselessly, although she was smiling as well. "Visitors? That's certainly a welcome change. I'll have to let Grandfather know soon."

"We gotta go tell the others first!" Lina squealed, not yet done bouncing. "C'mon, Fia! C'mon, let's go! Let's go!"

"Tell us what?" a rough voice from behind them asked.

Lina launched herself at the newcomer, giving Fia a well-needed break. "Serene! There are people coming to Elendia for the holidays! Isn't that so cool?"

Serene caught Lina easily and endured the little girl's happy fidgeting with a patient smile. She had short, dark blue hair and eyes of a darker violet, and wore a black cap adorned with kitty ears and white ribbons, along with a long white jacket and black leotard that had slits for her black, batlike wings. She also had on black, socklike shoes and layers of bandaging over her arms and calves. There were rows of calluses on her palms from her long years of training with the scythe, and her cheerful countenance allowed no hint of the tragedies in her past. She was the very last of the race of Sprites known as Arcs, and had lived with Lina and Fia since the destruction of her home two years ago.

"Yeah, I guess," the blue-haired girl said with a shrug. "I hope they _are _staying. We haven't gotten any real visitors for a while now."

"Wouldn't that be wonderful?" Fia said with a sigh.

"Mmmyeah," Serene replied, scrunching up her face. "I hope Cierra doesn't end up chasing them out of town like she usually does. That woman's a walking disaster area." One year older than Fia, Serene didn't exactly share the other girl's sense of romanticism.

"I heard that," Cierra the Scarlet Witch said flatly from the doorframe, her arms folded firmly and a pout on her face. The eldest of the four women who shared the house, she had red hair even longer than Fia's, and wore a close-fitting, red-and-black shoulderless dress with artfully torn skirts, long red gloves, and thigh-length red fabric boots that had five-inch heels. Her eyes were a dark brown that was nearly carmine, and her face was usually open and pleasant. Twenty-three years old, she was a journeyman-class witch who had settled in Elendia to work with the Magic Guild there and get further into her studies. Although her battle spells were extremely powerful, she sometimes had trouble with the support charms that most witches made use of throughout their daily lives. Cierra's little blunders had taught everyone in Elendia that their fire safety plans had been a very good idea.

"Well, you generally do," Serene said dryly. "It's not like you ever _mean _it, but you do."

"Still, we should tell Grandfather right away, shouldn't we?" Fia interrupted hastily, not wanting her friends to start quarreling. "He'll be so happy."

"Y-yeah, you're probably right," Serene agreed, shaking her head briefly, as if to clear it.

"Yay! Lina likes visitors!" Lina was still cheering.

The four of them headed towards the Elder's house, their discussion now focused on who the mysterious guests might be.

---

"It's been so long, hasn't it?" Looking around, he shook his head ruefully. "I can't believe two years have already gone by so quickly. Do you think they'll be angry that I didn't come back until now?"

"I think they probably knew you weren't going to show up for a while," the girl beside him said helpfully. "They'll most likely just be so happy to see us back that they won't mind at all."

"And if it weren't for me, we would have been back sooner," the man on his other side added quietly, his gaze lost along the paths that led into town. "I apologize."

"Hey, don't start," the small group's leader said, concern in his voice. "They're my friends, but so are you. And thanks to all the time we've spent away from here, we were finally able to help you! Would you rather be going around like you were two years ago?"

"... ..." The man did not reply, giving his younger friend a slight but warm smile instead.

"Come on, you two, let's go," the leader told them both, slinging his arms around his companions' shoulders. "It'll be the seven of us again, just like old times! It's so good, isn't it...? Coming home again, after being gone so long...?"

---

Walking with her friends, Fia sighed and fell a few steps behind, her mind drifting to the past again. Almost every day, her wishes and worries went out to those of their number who were _not _present.

She and Lina and met Serene and Cierra in the company of their mutual friend Ein, who they'd run into two years ago. When Lina had been walking in the forest one day, Ein had fallen into the path from somewhere above the trees. Amazingly, he'd been mostly unhurt, but when he'd awakened in their care, he'd had amnesia. Shortly after they'd met Serene, Ein's identity had been revealed, and Fia couldn't have been more amazed and horrified--he was actually a Grim Angel from the heavenly city of Asgard, sent to activate a so-called "Retribution" that would destroy all life on Riviera!

However, Ein's time with his friends had changed his mind about his duties--he instead sought another way to save Riviera from the demons that threatened to engulf it. He and the four girls, along with his magical cat familiar Rose, had traveled to seal the four Accursed beings who had summoned the demons from the dark planes of Niflheim.

Unfortunately, their troubles hadn't ended there. Ursula, Riviera's guardian, had called upon Ein, Fia, and the others once more shortly after the last Accursed's sealing. One of the seven Magi who protected the world in the gods' stead, Hector--the very person who had sent Ein to activate the Retribution in the first place--was still attempting to destroy Riviera's life by summoning Ursula's nemesis, Seth--the Sprite of death and destruction. Even worse, Hector had sent Ein's former best friend, a fellow Grim Angel named Ledah, to weaken Ursula's defenses so that the Retribution could be used.

Ein, Fia, and their friends had no choice but to try to protect the tree of life where Ursula dwelled, Yggdrasil, and so they'd headed out to try to stop Ledah from destroying the Aquarium jewels that kept Ursula safe. The two angels had been forced into a terrible battle; at its end, Ledah had asked to be killed, but Ein had refused, insisting that he didn't want to hurt the man who'd been his dearest friend.

Yet another Grim Angel in Hector's employ, a woman named Malice who had actually been behind the murders of Serene's people, had appeared and tried to grant Ledah's request. She'd then gone off to fulfill his incomplete task. The badly injured Ledah had insisted that Ein and the others go on and stop Malice before she destroyed the last of the three Aquariums.

Ein, supported by Fia and his other friends, had caught up with Malice and fought her, soundly defeating her in battle. Shocked at her loss, Malice had struck out at Ein, who should've been killed--instead, Ledah appeared, throwing himself between the two angels and taking the blow meant for his former companion.

Malice had gone back to Hector; Ein, Fia, Lina, Serene, and Cierra were left with Ledah and Ursula. If not for Ursula's transporting them all back to Elendia, Ledah would've died; because of her interference, they were able to give him medical treatment that just barely saved his life. Once Ledah's health was restored, he had insisted on accompanying them to Hector's castle.

Once the seven of them had reached the traitorious Magus, they'd confronted him about his wrongdoings and pursued him to the very heart of the Maze of Shadows. There, Hector had forced Malice to capture Ledah, and sacrificed the souls of both Grim Angels to resurrect Seth. He'd then revealed a secret that not even Malice knew--she'd actually failed the test to become a true Grim Angel, and Hector had cruelly manipulated her into becoming his servant by lying and telling her she'd succeeded.

Hector had combined his body with Seth's, and attempted to begin the Retribution; the devastated Ein had managed to destroy him in combat. Ursula pulled Ein and his remaining companions out of the Maze before it collapsed, and miraculously retrieved Ledah's soul from Valhalla, resurrecting him as a last gift to Ein and his friends.

The seven of them had settled in to a peaceful life in Elendia, but a few months after Hector's defeat, Ein had announced that he would be going on another quest.

To become a Grim Angel, one had to give up a part of oneself--Ein had sacrificed his wings, and Malice had been tricked into thinking she'd lost her future. Ledah had given up his emotions; somehow, he'd regained very limited feelings since he'd met Ein, but he remained in a mostly apathic state. Ein would be going on a quest with Ledah and Rose to see if there wasn't any way for Ledah's condition to be remedied.

And just like that, he'd left.

Fia had always liked Ein--she hadn't been able to say anything while they traveled together, but her feelings for him had been and still were very strong. Even though he'd been gone for so long, she still worried for his safety and for his friends' every day. She felt as though she'd never be whole until he returned to Elendia, whenever that would be...

"Hey, Fia, what is it?" Serene called. Blinking, the green-haired girl looked up--her friends had gotten far ahead of her while she'd been lost in thought.

"Oh--I'm sorry," she managed, flustered. "I was just... remembering... that's all." Gathering her skirts slightly, she took a few hasty steps forward as the others paused to wait for her.

When she'd almost reached them, she froze.

"Wow, look at this place. It hasn't changed a bit!"

_She knew that voice._

Slowly, her hands on her skirts beginning to tremble, she turned towards the path that led into Elendia, not even daring to hope.

There--heading into the village were three people, and the one in the lead...

Dropping her skirts, Fia clapped both hands to her mouth, feeling tears beginning to come into her eyes. There was a brief moment of silence as the girl next to him put a hand on his shoulder and pointed; he turned and took a step towards them, speaking hesitantly. "Fia...?"

Lina shrieked, darting forward and tackling him ecstatically. "EIN! You came back!"

Serene and Cierra also ran to the travelers happily, leaving Fia to stagger slowly in their wake. She almost felt as though she was going to suddenly snap awake in her bed, she'd dreamed about this moment for so long.

Ein had finally, _finally _come home.

He looked the same as ever--short, messy bluish-brown hair, big dark blue eyes, travel-worn blue jacket, white shirt, and dark shorts. His Diviner sword, Einherjar, was sheathed at his back as usual, and he was laughing as Lina finally released him and he exchanged happy hugs with Serene and Cierra. His face was open and cheerful as ever, face flushed in the chilly air, as he spoke to the other girls. As Fia finally reached him, he turned and gave her the smile that she felt was reserved just for her, and said...

"It's so good to be back!"

"Who's this?" Cierra asked, her witch's curiosity threaded through her voice. She was looking at the girl at Ein's side, who was giggling along with him. She had nearly-black hair that was divided into four little horsetails, two of which framed her face, kitty ears, green eyes, a cat's tail, a black dress with an olive-green sash, black gloves, and a green ribbon pinned to the dress' collar.

Ein laughed; Fia's heart melted. "Oh. You know her--this is Rose!"

Everyone stared; both Ein and Rose laughed again.

They explained. Before Ein had left, Cierra had given him a special magical potion that, when sprayed on someone, would grant their heart's desire. Since neither Ein nor Ledah had anything they wanted that badly, they'd let Rose use the potion--it had made her human. Apparently, she was much happier this way--she was even writing the story of their quest to save Riviera.

Fia allowed herself a quick inner sigh of relief. For a few moments, she'd worried that Ein might've picked up a girlfriend along his journey--she was glad she still had a chance with him.

Lina squeaked; Fia turned to her questioningly. Happily, the little carrot-top pointed to Ledah, who was standing slightly behind the still-laughing Ein and shaking his head, a small smile on his face.

Fia couldn't deny the fact that while Ein just looked like any ordinary Sprite, Ledah seemed to perfectly fit the part of a Grim Angel. He was tall, with pale skin, dark red eyes, and somewhat unevenly cut blonde hair. He always wore a bright crimson cloak; beneath that, priestlike robes of a red so dark it seemed almost black. The silver cross hanging from his angel's rosary was visible just below the white ruff at his collar, a constant reminder of his occupation. And like all the angels but Ein, he had his huge wings, glossy black and beautiful as they sat folded at his back. But the smile, even such a slight one, had been an alien expression to his usually calm face two years ago...

"He's _smiling! _Mister Ledah's really smiling! Ein did it! Yayy!" So saying, Lina launched forward for the millionth time that day, tackle-glomping the taciturn angel.

Flaring his wings for balance, Ledah looked awkwardly down at the little girl whose arms were fastened firmly around his waist, quite obviously not sure what he was supposed to do.

And Ein burst out laughing again, followed by everybody else.

Once the giggles had subsided and Lina had let go of poor Ledah, Ein began to steer everyone back to Fia and Lina's place.

"I'm really sorry we were away so long, but it was just so hard to find someone who could help," he was saying, looking between Rose and Ledah helplessly. "So few people knew anything about Grim Angels... we can tell you about it later. But what matters now is, we're all home."

Yes. Yes, that was what mattered. Fia smiled at him.

Ein was home in time for Christmas. Life could _finally _go on.

---

NEXT TIME: Snowball fights and fluffiness. Not to mention blizzards--and who would have guessed that Ledah has mad skillz besides wielding Lorelei:) Come back for the ownage.


	2. Sleeping Beauty

A Very Riviera Christmas

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Riviera. I have no money--if I actually DID create that game, I would have a lot. I don't even own the Black Feathers... I didn't know you could pick them up... (teary-eyed) Noooo... went through game without a memento of Ledah-kun... (cry, cry, cry)

Warning: Impending shonen-ai! Ein is a pervert! Lots of one-sided Ein/Fia! If you don't like, then run-away-no-jutsu!

"Fia! Fia! Look, Fia, it's snowing!" Lina shouted, bouncing happily as she stood with her hands on the windowpane.

"I can see," the green-haired girl replied. Fat, fluffy white flakes were falling from the sky; there were already a few inches on the ground. It was early morning, and Ein, Rose, and Ledah had been back for two days already. Time had seemed to pass so quickly as Fia and her friends had gotten the angels and the familiar-turned-historian settled back into Elendia, and winter was at last kicking into high gear.

Cierra, monitoring the mugs of hot chocolate over the simple boiler stove, gently fanned the flame on the range. "They should be ready any minute now," she reported with a smile.

"Now remember to wear a jacket if you go outside to play with Gill and Molan, okay?" Fia cautioned, not entirely sure if the fidgeting Lina was paying attention or not.

"Yeah, yeah, _Mommy," _the carrot-top retorted, sticking out her tongue.

"Why warn her?" Serene, lounging at the breakfast table with a half-eaten loaf of bread in one hand, asked flippantly. "You know Lina, she'll just be a brat and go out in her normal clothes. Then she'll get sick and start fishing for sympathy." Red-faced, Lina waved her fists at the Arc, who stuck out her tongue in response.

"Don't be so hard on her, Serene," Fia pleaded. "She's just a child, after all."

"Stop treating me like a little kid," Lina raged, jumping up and down in irritation.

"Don't get too loud, now," Cierra chided gently, giggling. "You'll wake up Sleeping Beauty." She tilted her head towards the large, plush chair in which Ledah was curled--he'd fallen asleep there last night, the book he'd been reading still open on his lap, and no one had had the heart to waken him just to make him go back to sleep upstairs. His chest rose and fell steadily with the rhythm of his breathing, and his ebony wings spilled out over both armrests, with a few stray black feathers deposited on the floor like seven-inch slicks of oil.

Lina hushed, guilty-faced.

Footsteps made the girls turn; Ein, still wearing the plain white kimono Elendia's residents used as nightwear, and Rose, fully dressed, were coming down the stairs.

"Gmrg," Ein mumbled on his way to the table, still looking more than half asleep.

Rose, yawning and stretching in agreement, caught sight of Ledah and giggled. "He's still not up yet? Wow. And he's always been such an early riser, too..."

Almost as if in response, Ledah shifted in the chair; everyone (even Ein) turned to look, but the black-winged angel resettled and slipped still further into dreams.

The six of them exchanged looks.

"Nuh-uh," Serene said emphatically. "Absolutely no way not happening no. I am not risking his right hook. The man tosses that big-ass spear around like it weighs nothing. NO."

"I don't really know him well enough," Cierra told the others with a shrug. "Waking up someone gently in the morning is too intimate for me to try. It'd just be so awkward."

"I dunno if I could really do it well," Lina said, pulling a face and fidgeting. "And I wanna go play! Can I, can I?"

Fia shook her head. "Well, we can't just let him sleep all day. That isn't healthy."

"Looks like either you or I get stuck with it," Rose commented to Ein, stretching and twisting in ways that would make a professional contortionist purple-faced with indignant jealousy.

"MmmMMMPH," Ein scowled into the table.

"You've known him way longer than me," Rose pointed out, arching one eyebrow and folding back her ears.

"Nrrrk."

"You could wake him without getting him upset."

"Mmmmmmehhhh."

"Either wake him up now or let him wake up on his own in the middle of the day. I have a book to finish writing, Einstein. Sometimes you STILL make me ashamed to have been your familiar."

"Lemmewaykupfrrrst," Ein groaned.

"Hot chocolate?" Cierra suggested. "There's enough in the pot for seven!"

"Bravo, something Cierra can make without massacreing the kitchen," Serene said under her breath, her eyebrows arching perfectly.

"I may not be the world's best cook, but I can turn you into toast," the Scarlet Witch (now looking as though she quite fit the title) warned, pulling her staff from where it rested against the wall and shaking it menacingly. "Want to see me try?"

"Not particularly," was Serene's only response. If the threat frightened her in any way, she wasn't showing it.

Ein extended a hand, making grabbing motions. "Gimme."

"What's the magic word?" Rose asked as Cierra turned back to the pot.

"Gimme _please."_

"Good enough."

After Ein had been at his hot chocolate for five minutes and Fia had finished helping the still-fidgety Lina into her yellow, fur-lined winter coat, the wingless angel grudgingly stood and headed over to Ledah's chair, managing not to shuffle.

"Oei." Laying a hand on Ledah's shoulder, he prepared to give his friend a shake. "Wake up, sleepy..." Ready to begin, he paused suddenly, frowning.

Perhaps it was a trick of the light. Ein could probably amount it to that. But strangely, he found himself realizing that he could definitely agree with his friends' jokingly terming Ledah "Sleeping Beauty". His golden hair, tousled just from the gentle movements as he shifted his weight from one side to his other, traced soft but wild tufts across his nearly white cheeks, and his lips, parted very slightly, seemed unusually soft. _Definitely _the light. It had to be. It accentuated how rumpled the crimson cloth of his priest's clothes and cloak were, _and _the gentle shadows where the left side of his collar was bent between his face and the side of the chair. It glossed over the feathers of his wings, letting Ein see the exact few that were bent out of place and would probably fall out soon. Even for an angel, Ledah shed feathers like crazy.

One hand still kept Ledah's place in the book he'd been reading (he probably had just dozed off in the middle of a sentence, Ein realized with a faint smile), pale fingers slightly curled against the page, which was somewhat bent, as if the angel had meant to turn it before he'd drifted into sleep's embrace. Scanning the text, Ein noticed that once again, Ledah was reading something that the dark-haired young man had never even heard of. He'd always been a bookish sort of man (except for the time he'd lived without emotions, but that of course went without saying), even since the two of them had been children--it was kind of good to see that Ledah was getting that back.

Whether it was the light, or the soft strand of golden-blonde that drifted back and forth lazily as Ledah drew breath, the oddest thought had just run through Ein's mind like a bolt of dry lightning.

_He really is beautiful._

But since when, Ein wondered to himself, did he think of weird things like that? And since when did he start getting the bizarre little urge to tease those loose strands of Ledah's hair until they were neat (operative word) again?

_I need to adjust my sleep schedule, _Ein thought dryly. _It's starting to get to my head._

He gripped the shoulder he'd let his hand rest on gently but firmly, and gave Ledah a much softer shake than he'd previously planned. "Hey. Time to wake up."

"Mmn..." Something in Ledah's hoarse, sleepy moan and the way he blearily looked up at his friend out of hooded carmine eyes made the itch to mess with that golden hair a million times stronger. Removing his hands, Ein clasped them behind his back.

"You fell asleep reading, silly. You've gotta start reading in bed if you're going to do this, you know. It's breakfast time already, and it's snowing. Lina wants everyone to go out together, so if you're coming, you'd better get ready quickly." For a moment, Ein wasn't sure if his words had sunken in--Ledah still looked more than half asleep--but after a short pause, the blonde angel sighed, shoved his bangs out of his face, dogeared the page of his book, and closed it.

"Alright." Ein stepped back; Ledah stood up, flaring and resettling his wings. A few of the loose feathers Ein had spotted fell out, drifting lazily to the floor. Ledah's rosary jangled as he shook his head to clear it; Ein was standing close enough that he saw the faint, sharp shiver that ran down the length of the man's body, dislodging two more feathers.

"Yay!" went Lina from the door; Ein saw Fia make a hushing movement out of the corner of his eye, out of respect for the red-clad angel's still-vulnerable state.

Pausing at the stairs, Ledah looked over his shoulder at Ein and the girls. The wingless angel thought for a moment that there was a slight pink flush over the older man's cheeks, but dismissed it as soon as the idea surfaced. Ledah did. Not. Blush. "The next time that happens... someone wake me, please..." Leaving only those words and the feathers on the floor, he headed up.

Serene had headed over to the now-abandoned chair, and had picked up one of Ledah's stray feathers, turning it back and forth between two fingers. "We have really got to do something about this," she said dryly. "He makes a mess almost everywhere he goes. What's the deal with all these freaking feathers anyway, Ein?"

"Is Ledah in molting or something?" Fia asked, pausing in buttoning up Lina's coat.

Ein shook his head. "Nah... angels don't really molt, we just shed all over the place when the seasons change. Our wings' coats have to be warm enough to shield us if we're out somewhere in winter, after all. He'll be getting down feathers in, and then a heavier pinion layer... until then, we'll just have to pick up after him a little more."

"Why can't he pick 'em up himself?" Serene complained, swiping more black feathers off the floor and looking irritable.

"Because it would ruin his image," Rose said nonchalantly, dumping some ground herb into her hot chocolate and stirring it with her swillstick. "It's beneath his dignity and everything. Can you imagine _Ledah_ getting all embarrassed over a couple of little shed feathers?"

"When we were younger, we used to help each other preen," Ein explained, "but he stopped asking after he became a Grim Angel, and wouldn't really take care of himself unless I brought it up. And I didn't want to mention wings after I lost mine, anyway. Malice used to give him a hard time about it, but _she _could only talk because she spent about an hour shaking or pulling out loose or bent feathers every day. Us guys do _not _spend that much time messing with our image."

"You used to know Malice?" Cierra asked, intrigued.

Ein made a face. "We kinda did all grow up in Asgard. She was nice when we were _little, _but she got more violent as she got older. I spent most of my time with Ledah anyway, and usually that meant we were in the library. Malice only went in there to get the books on Ragnarok. Ever since we were kids, the thing you'd hear most out of her was 'I wanna be a Grim Angel!', even though we thought no one could ever become one again." His grimace deepened. "It's kind of sad, when you consider the way things turned out."

"If I didn't know better, I'd say you're feeling sympathy for that little murderer," Serene said flatly, her eyes slitting. "Good riddance, is all I have to say on the subject."

"I can never like her, but I feel sorry for her," Ein replied, sounding defensive. "Hector used her, the same way he used us. And he killed her the same way he indirectly killed your family and friends. It's even _worse _because of the way he kept on lying to her."

"Even though Ledah almost _died _because of her." It wasn't a question. Serene's voice grated dangerously on every word.

"That's why I can never like her," Ein retorted staunchly. "If we're done, I need to go get changed. Rose, stop putting catnip in your hot chocolate. It's bad for you." Pulling a Ledah and remaining stone silent, he followed his friend upstairs.

Rose, suddenly crimson, stuck out her tongue at Ein's retreating back and put in another pinch of the dried herbs defiantly.

---

"It's sooooo _pretty," _Lina moaned happily, skipping around.

In the time it had taken for Ledah and Ein to get changes of clothes and food, about three more inches of snow had fallen, and the fluffy, sparkly whiteness now reached about halfway up everyone's calves.

"Do you want to make snow sculptures?" Cierra suggested, clasping her hands and giggling.

"Or snow angels?" Fia asked, scooping up a small handful of the ice crystals and blowing on them, scattering silver dust in the air.

Serene knelt down and scooped a large handful, packing it tightly between her gloved palms. "Nahh... all that's little kid stuff." She stood, grinning evilly, and lobbed the snow in her hands at Ein, who just barely got out of the way. "Snowball fight!"

"But we've got seven people...," Ein began, looking at everyone uncertainly.

As if in response, Ledah walked over to the side of the house, staring pointedly at his friend with upraised eyebrows.

"Okay... if _some people _are too dignified to get snow on their hands, then I guess we're good to go," Ein said, giving Ledah a just-as-pointed glare.

"I get Lina on my team," Serene crowed, clapping the younger girl on the shoulder.

"Rose is on mine," Ein replied, linking arms with his giggling former familiar.

After some short deliberation, Cierra joined up with Ein and Rose while Fia stayed with Lina and Serene. The two parties separated, gathered snow into their hands, and launched forward as Ein yelled "go".

To Ledah, there didn't seem to be much point to the mock skirmish other than to get cold, wet, and breathless. Lina pelted those who opposed her with icy missiles, while Fia tried to avoid throwing or being thrown at in the back and Serene's snowballs tended to hit friend as easily as foe. Cierra usually missed, but seemed to be having the time of her life, cheering her teammates on with gusto. Rose, on the other hand, was almost as good a hit as Lina, and Ein's reflexes kept him from getting quite as snowy as everybody else.

_Is something so foolish really that much fun...?_

Ledah watched with folded arms, leaning partly against the wall so that his wings wouldn't be painfully pressed against the cold of the treetrunk, with more than a little wondering curiosity... at least until one of Serene's wayward snowballs came sailing towards him.

He leaned slightly to one side, stretching out his wing, just in time--the freezing sphere exploded on the wall behind him instead of on his face.

Serene, straightening up, waved. "Sorry 'bout that! I'll be careful!" And in five minutes, she was throwing snowballs in random directions again.

Until a fiercely packed snowball smacked her firmly in the back of the head, sending her facefirst onto the snow.

"Serene, are you okay?" Fia squealed, rushing over to her friend's side.

Sitting up, the last Arc made a face. "Yeah... ow..." She took off her kitty hat and brushed away the snow, looking confused. "But who...?"

"Lina didn't see it," the thirteen-year-old said with a shrug.

Ein, Rose, and Cierra also shook their heads.

Serene looked around suspiciously. No one was around but them, unless you counted Ledah, who had scooted over a few feet as if to attempt avoidance of any more impending snowballs.

"Well, if none of you are gonna 'fess up, then I guess I'll have to POUND the truth out of you!" Arms windmilling, Serene shot still more projectiles towards any and all in her path.

The second snowball clipped her in the side of the head.

"Owww!" she whined, taking off her hat to clean it off again. "Seriously! Who keeps--?"

The answer to her question was a little more clear this time, considering that Ledah was no longer leaning on the wall but standing straight, observing the scene with his usual poker face as he passed another tightly packed snowball from one hand to the other.

"YOU'RE DEAD MEAT, YOU STUPID MEANIE-BUTT!" Serene yelled, winging snowballs at the solitary angel as fast as she could. To her indignation, Ledah adeptly ducked and weaved through the storm of flying snow and ice, making his way from the house to the "battlefield" at the same time.

"BOYS AGAINST GIRLS," Rose announced, joining in with a few snowballs of her own.

"Hey, no fair!" Ein protested. "Two against five? No way!"

"You're both really good, and none of us see why not," Cierra explained happily.

"That was really sneaky anyway," Lina pitched in.

"Ledah is uncommonly skilled for a beginner," Fia admitted.

"You're evil," Ein groaned. Turning to Ledah, who had made his way there without even getting winded, he added, "Show no mercy."

In the end, the snowball fight lasted over an hour in its entirety. Despite all the girls' attempts, Ledah escaped with only a mild scrape where a snowball had grazed his cheek. Even Serene had to eventually admit defeat.

The seven of them piled into the house again, stripping off coats and boots in the entrance hallway. "I'll make some more hot chocolate," Cierra volunteered, placing her battered black hat on the table.

"Great," Serene said exhaustedly. "Bath time."

Ein, who had slumped into a chair at his first opportunity, perked up visibly, but Rose cuffed him on the head. "Don't even think about it. Cierra and I will be here watching you. You're gonna have your chance in there _later, _as in when the water heats up again, with Ledah _after _all of us have gone. And you'll be under surveillance every time one of us is in there. Don't think we'll have forgotten all those times at Meute's spring, you peeping tom!"

The wingless angel sighed and laid his head on the table in front of him. "You're mean, Rose."

Ledah, curled up on the floor beside him, turned to his friend with an arched eyebrow. "You really never learn, do you? One would have thought that all those failed attempts at peeking at Malice would have taught you better, but no..."

"Stop picking on me," Ein groaned, what the others could see of his face burning.

---

"Wake up... Ein, you've got to wake up!"

Groaning, he threw up an arm to shield his face, curling up in his makeshift futon.

"I mean it, Ein, it's an emergency!" Fia's voice sounded frantic.

Emergency shmergency. The others had been with him when he'd gone through everything in his quest--they could handle it.

"EIN! Don't be stupid, we need you!" Rose yowled, sounding more catlike than she would've appreciated normally.

His butt they needed him.

"Ein." Ledah's voice was sharp, terse, and anxious. "Wake up. NOW."

Urk. With a slight moan, Ein opened his eyes, shielding his face from the light. "Whassit?"

"The snows just keep getting stronger, Ein... it's a blizzard out there, and when Lina and I tried to get out to check on Grandfather... we couldn't even open the door!"

---

NEXT TIME: Ein learns the perils and the pleasures of being snowed in. Rations are made. Lengthy lectures are told. Beware the bisexual pervert. And did we mention, it's bath time...?


	3. Longing from a Distance

A Very Riviera Christmas

DISCLAIMER: I may not own Riviera, but I -DO- own the Item Manual, Album, Music Sheet, Spiral Shell, and Magic Mirror in the aforementioned game. Sadly, no Black Feathers yet, but I'm getting there... and then of course I'll be at THAT stupid scene... (grumble) (stabs Sting)

Author's Note: Hello, whoever happens to be reading! I do these long ranty things at the beginning of some chapters, and none of my muses seem to be able to do anything about it... (giggle)

Ghaleon: You can say that again.

Karst: Yeah, she never shuts up.

Envy: I've seen her take up entire pages with these.

Me: T.T;; I feel so unloved. Shut up, you stupid people. You're damaging my self-esteem. ...Anyway, I hope I'm reaching other fangirls who support this underappreciated pairing; it'd be nice to have some of them ending up reading this (and reviewing, of course). And if you don't particularly care for Ledah/Ein (why do I list their names in opposite order to the dominance rule anyway?), I hope you stay around for a while anyway just to read one of the precious few Riviera fanfics on this site. I'm trying really hard and I've got about eighty fanfics I'm supposed to be writing all at once, so be patient with me please.

I have so much fun with the dialogue between the characters--and I love the fact that I can use Serene and Rose's unwillingness to give anyone a break to give people like Ein a hard time. I've been playing him the way he's been acting in my particular save file, so if he seems a little OOC every now and then, it's prolly because yes, his personality DOES change depending on which girl he's courting or which goal he's attempting to achieve. I also expect Ledah to seem somewhat OOC sometimes, but that's mostly because he has his emotions back now, _duh. _He's gonna care about things a little more... like Ein for example. (evil kitty face) (dodges kitchen appliances)

So what's my big attraction to this particular pairing anyway, when Ein goes so well with any of the six supporting characters? Because I am naturally drawn to angst and it don't get much angstier than these two's in-game relationship. Besides, they work--Ein really does care a lot about Ledah, being the guy he is. And contrary to popular belief, Ledah cares too--or else he'd have ditched Ein and left him to die a million times in the first stage when he was still an idiot noob. (sweatdrop) Seriously! His behavior at the end of Chapter 6 should've been a major tip-off. You don't throw yourself between danger and someone you don't like, _especially _if you're in Ledah's condition at the time. No matter how the hell you portray their relationship, it always ends up being cute, ESPECIALLY if you're a fangirl like me.

I could rant about that subject forever, but more on that in later chapters. Next topic. Although the thought somewhat scares me, the rating on this story is probably going to go up in the future. There's a _certain scene _that I've been planning that's going to go somewhere in a later chapter, and if I write it the way it's supposed to be, then this fic is SO going to end up rated M. Which is scary. This is supposed to be a cute and fluffy Christmas story, which I hope will be done around that holiday.

And on that subject: While the Riviera characters are anything but Christian, this particular holiday has rubbed off on most other cultures (they celebrate it in Japan, for instance, which is a Shintoist country), so it's usually okay to include it if you're not getting too preachy about it. Which trust me, I won't be.

I think that's it for now (see, Envy? This was less than a page), so here's today's warning: More Ein-is-a-pervert on the way, along with his characteristic peeping attempts... though this one turns out in a way that you might not expect. And of course more shonen-ai. Read and enjoy!

---

"What do you mean, the door won't open?" Ein asked, sitting straight up.

"We've tried. The snow's built up too high on the other side," Fia told him helplessly. "At this going rate... we'll be completely trapped here within a few hours. And with the snow so fresh, we can't risk opening any windows on this floor. Whoever went out could fall through and end up buried."

"But shouldn't Cierra be able to melt the snow with her fire spells?" the wingless angel asked helplessly.

The red-haired witch shook her head, seeming almost tearful. "I thought that too, but... what if I mess up again? I could end up killing us all with a fire spell! Any water spells I'd try to use to put one out could flood the entire house. I... I'm sorry... but we just can't risk it!"

"Ledah?" Ein turned to his longtime friend, looking uncertain.

The blonde shook his head. "I could try using Lorelei... but that would require an open door, which we don't have. And I would have to keep attacking or casting spells hour after hour... this blizzard doesn't seem as though it's going to let up anytime soon. My power would run out quickly, and then I'd be of no use to anyone... it just won't work that way."

"We need to figure out what we're going to do," Rose said sternly, one ear folded back. "We've got enough supplies to last us about a week or so, and the water lines are still running, even though we've got to be really careful and conserve it anyway. We'll have to ration everything off really well."

"It does seem like there's nothing we can really do but kick back and wait for help to come..." Ein said softly.

"Lina's scared," the little carrot-top whimpered, clinging to Fia's side.

"Don't be too worried," Serene told her. "Everyone else'll be fine too, and we've got Claude and Soala underground at the Academy... they'll think of something."

"I hope so," Ein said, shaking his head. "I really do..."

---

It'd been about six hours since Ein's abrupt awakening, and he hadn't been able to get back to sleep, so he'd just gone downstairs with everyone else. There were a few logs in the fireplace, and the blaze in the small hearth was all that was keeping the house warm. Although snow could be insulating in the right conditions, it was still very cold.

Fia and Lina were both sitting on the bed by the far wall; the very terrified Lina had gone to sleep at last, and Fia was sitting and stroking her hair, looking as if she'd keel over at any second.

Serene and Cierra were working to clear up the two futons that Ein and Ledah had used for the past few days; it would be too cold to stay in them now, especially downstairs. And the house only had two down blankets, placed over both the upstairs and downstairs beds.

Rose was sitting in the large chair that Ledah had napped in only yesterday; there was a candle set on a table near her, and she carried a huge tome in her lap, writing at a furious pace with a quill that looked suspiciously like one of the solitary angel's feathers.

Sitting just in front of the fire, only as far away as the occasional spark couldn't reach, were Ein and Ledah, with the former leaning heavily on the latter's shoulder. Ledah's eyes were closed, but Ein knew he was awake--his breathing was still erratic, and every now and then, the black wing that kept the dark-haired young man against his side would twitch and resettle.

"We're gonna be okay, right?" Ein asked softly.

There was a short silence, and then a shift as Ledah put an arm around Ein's shoulders and gave them a gentle squeeze. "What an odd question, coming from you."

"I was just thinking... what a sad way to die this would be... cut off from everyone around you, slowly starving as you're forced to eat less and less each day. Alone and forgotten by the world..."

"No one's going to _forget _you. Elendia considers you a hero. Everyone will be worrying for your well-being, and once the others are sure of their own safety, they'll try to get to you." A pause. "And you're not alone. You have us." And even more softly, spoken so quietly that Ein couldn't be sure he'd heard it, Ledah whispered, "You have _me..."_

The moment was broken when Serene and Cierra tramped down the stairs, causing everyone to look up. "Alright everybody, we're going to have to set up sleeping arrangements for however long we have to wait to outlast this thing," the last Arc announced.

"The problem is, there are seven of us and two beds," Cierra explained with a sigh. "We all know it's too cold for futons, but there don't seem to be any other options. And none of us girls will really want to sleep in the same bed as a guy--no offense, Ledah. I'm sure you understand."

The red-clad Grim Angel nodded; Ein sulked. "What about _me?"_

_"You_ are a pervert and the reason we have to think of things this way," Serene told him, stabbing a judgemental finger in his direction.

"You don't have to be so harsh," Ein grumbled, going red.

"There is one other option," Ledah said slowly. The girls and Ein looked at him curiously.

"Like what?" Rose asked, blinking over her book.

"Here. It's warm in front of the fire... there's room enough for three, and if I stay down here, I can shield two others with my wings. That should keep the cold away, no matter how bad it gets out there."

"But what about _you?" _Ein demanded. "You're gonna get really cold if you don't use your wings to protect _yourself!"_

Ledah simply shrugged. "That isn't the issue at hand. It would be easy for one of the others to catch cold in this weather, Lina especially. Sprites--and even familiars--generally have a weaker constitution than angels."

"Hate to admit it, but it makes a lot of sense," Serene quipped. "And there's no way we're going to let you keep your monopoly on those down feathers Ledah is supposedly growing. We want in on the fluff too."

"..." Ledah stared skyward and let out a short sigh. Ein, looking at him, couldn't help but wonder--was that reddish tinge on his old friend's face what he thought it was?

"Don't mind her," Cierra said, looking apologetically at Ledah and wringing her hands. "We're all a little... anxious, being stuck here, and this is just her way of whistling in the dark."

"I know." However, that reddish tinge was still there. It was probably as close to blushing madly as Ledah ever got, or would ever get.

"It's sweet of you, but there's also your health to consider," Rose told him, nibbling the end of her quill. "Where would we be if you got sick?"

"I don't get sick."

"You don't get sick _often. _But what if you did? You'd end up really feeling awful, considering the limited medical supplies in this house. And then whoever should've been sleeping in front of the fire with you would end up smushed in beds with everybody else anyway."

"There aren't any other options," Ledah said simply. "Ein and I will stay down here. Anyone who so desires is welcome to join us."

"If you say so," was Rose's skeptical reply. But she gave no more protests.

---

As Serene and Cierra had continued to explain, the condition of the underground waterways meant that baths would have to be taken sparingly, with as many as possible going at the same time. They'd furthermore said that they'd be going with Fia and Lina when the little carrot-top woke up. Rose, who was generally very clean, had decided that she'd go whenever the next opportunity arose. Ledah and Ein would probably have to make do with the washbasin most of the time, but it was still better than nothing.

Lina had woken up about half an hour ago.

Ein'd had to wait until Rose had fallen asleep writing, of course, but it would be worth it. The house's old tub was large and would probably fit all four girls easily--the thought of them all curled together in the water, passing soap and scrub brushes back and forth nearly made Ein's nose bleed. And with Rose sleeping and Ledah who knew where, he'd be able to try to risk a look.

Slipping off his shoes and gloves, Ein padded softly as he could manage down the hall. The bathing room was situated at the back of the house, dug slightly into the ground next to one of the huge roots that formed the giant tree which sheltered all of Elendia. There was only one room between--a spare storage room, where Fia and Lina kept their food, mageware, and arrows. It, too, seemed occupied--the door was closed except for a crack barely wide enough to look through.

Curious, Ein paused in his pursuit. He'd never been in the storeroom before. And maybe there'd be something worth looking at in there, too?

Just to be safe, of course, he'd try looking through the crack first. Carefully, he crept up to the crack, leaning close enough to it to take a peek.

The storeroom was lit by a soft cream-colored candle which dripped low in its brass holder. All the boxes and things that one would expect to find littered about the floor in such a room had been pushed as close to the walls as possible, even stacked up on top of each other. And in the center...

He was perched on what looked like a low wooden footstool with a neatly folded pile of dark cloth on the floor beside him. His ebony wings were carefully folded at his bare back, the tips of the lowest pinion feathers trailing on the ground. Though Ein couldn't see exactly what he was doing, the soft sound of dripping water and the slight dampness at the very ends of his hair, which clung to his skin and gently curled around the nape of his neck, told the wingless angel all he needed to know.

There was a sharp, swooping lurch somewhere behind Ein's ribcage, as though something had been hooked there and then yanked against the bones. What accompanied the odd feeling was the even odder sensation that had never before occurred to him while watching someone bathe--the idea that what he was doing was _wrong._

Because it was... wasn't it? This was no cheerful or playful image like those he'd borne witness to with the girls. Ledah was silent, his mood somber, the scene itself intimate in ways that brought fire rushing to Ein's face.

_I shouldn't be doing this._

But for some reason, Ein just couldn't tear himself away. His head was telling him "move", but his feet stayed rooted to the floor, silently and shamefully watching.

There was a rustle of feathers as Ledah shifted on the footstool, and to Ein's shock, he spoke. "You know... you can come in if you want. We're both men--it's not like you haven't seen this a million times before..."

_H...how did he...? _Shocked, Ein reluctantly pushed the door open; it creaked riotously when he closed it again behind him. "S..sorry. I didn't really mean to barge in..."

"It's fine." But as Ledah turned slightly to face him, that soft red-pink hue was back on his pale cheeks, a truth that belied his words.

Ein walked around to the other side of the washbasin and reluctantly sat. He knew he was probably still blushing like mad, but there wasn't much he could do about it; at least Ledah wasn't giving him that look anymore, and had gone back to running a soaking washcloth over his side.

"Hey, listen..." Ledah paused in the middle of scrubbing and looked up at Ein through his bangs, a silent question within the carmine depths of his eyes. "I just wanted to ask if... if you've been feeling more... more _normal _lately. I know that's a really bad way of phrasing it but... I keep thinking of how the man who healed your heart said it was going to take time for your emotions to fully resurface. And I can't help worrying about if you're really getting any better at all...?"

"It's a foolish question to pose to me. No matter what I'm doing, I'll seem 'normal', as you put it, to myself. It's something you need to consider... I'll have no way to tell."

"Well, you've been smiling so much more, and you're actually reading and doing fun things again, but..." Ein shrugged helplessly. "I want to hear you _laugh _again... you haven't for _years, _Ledah..."

Ledah sighed and shifted the washcloth to his other hand. There was a moment of silence as he gently ran it over his right shoulder; he sighed again and spoke softly, his voice a dry breeze on an empty autumn street. "You're a much better person than I will ever be... just look at you, Ein. You care so much for the sake of others, it sometimes comes at your own expense. You care almost _too _much... and yet... it makes up so much of who you are..." The blonde shook his head. "Ein..." There was a pause in which Ledah seemed to steel himself to say something, but just as he took a breath to speak, he closed his eyes. "Never mind."

"You should tell me if there's something bothering you," Ein pressed. "You're my friend, Ledah... of course I worry about you."

"You still consider me your friend?" the elder Grim Angel asked in a very small voice. "Even after everything I've cost you... the years you could have spent in peace, in this town...?"

"Of course," the dark-haired young man insisted, scooting over so that he sat closer to Ledah. "You're one of my... my most precious friends. You know I'd do anything for you, without regrets."

There was another long silence; after what felt like hours, a small smile stole across the blonde's face, and he dipped the washcloth into the basin of water before him, wringing out the extra moisture before beginning to scrub his shoulder and upper arm again. "Perhaps when I regain tears and laughter... I can be considered 'normal', as you put it, once again."

Ein wasn't quite sure why he did it, but the gesture just felt right, somehow. Reaching out, he let his right hand gently rest on Ledah's cheek, tilting his friend's face up so that their eyes met. "You cried at Yggdrasil... remember? Two years ago... when I almost lost you..."

Ledah stared up at him, crimson eyes wide with some hidden thought or emotion he didn't seem able to express.

That word, _beautiful, _was running through Ein's mind again, with him helpless to stop it. He didn't understand what was making his heart race, and that scared him. But all the same, the word was too strong for him to suppress forever. And so, he began to speak.

"You're..."

Catching himself just in time, Ein pulled his hand away, getting very red in the face. _What am I DOING? _"I... I'm sorry. I don't know why I did that. I've been acting so weird lately and... sorry."

Was Ein imagining things, or had Ledah's face fallen for a few moments there? It must have been--his expression was normal by the next time Ein blinked. The blonde angel sighed, and held out the still-wet washcloth to his friend.

"Well, as long as you're here, would you mind making use of yourself?"

"Um... what do you want...?" Ein asked, his voice wavering slightly. For some reason, his mind was coming up with a few _very _suggestive things to do with that cloth.

"I can't reach the spot right between my wings--they get in the way. If you would, please?"

"Uh... n-not at all." Ein took the washcloth, scooted around so that he was kneeling behind Ledah, and got to work, scrubbing the bare space his friend had indicated, which lay directly in the center of his back, between his shoulder blades and the spots where the softest and smallest of his black feathers sprouted.

Ledah let out an immense sigh, speaking in a dreamy tone and apparently not thinking at all about what he said the next moment: "Hmmmmmmmm... that feels really good..."

Ein sweatdropped. "I always thought you hated being touched here?"

"Depends on who's doing it. You're my friend, so I don't mind." Ledah arched his back inwards, his wings stretching and resettling reflexively. "The skin's just sensitive up there. I don't want anyone I don't trust taking advantage of that fact."

"I'll keep that in mind," Ein said, trying to keep his voice as flat as possible.

Ledah twisted to look over his shoulder, his eyes suspicious. "Try anything funny, and I'll be introducing you to Lorelei's business end," he said slowly, sounding unamused.

"I wouldn't dream of it," Ein told him honestly, starting to smile. "You trust me that much?"

The back of Ledah's neck was suddenly flushed. "Of course I do... I owe you my life, in more ways than one..."

"Heheh... thanks for the vote of confidence. It means more than you'd think."

"Don't let it go to your ego."

"I won't."

---

"Thank the gods," Serene said with a sigh, toweling off the back of her neck as she sat in her underclothes. "We managed to take a bath without Ein going all peeping tom on us."

"It does concern me a _little _bit, though," Fia confessed, pulling her skirts straight. "If he wasn't trying to look in here, then where _was _he?"

"Hopefully being watched by Ga--I mean Rose," Cierra replied, shrugging. "I don't think she'd let him slip off..."

"Yeah, but Ein's a pervert," Lina told them, trying to pull her wet hair back into its double ponytails. "Lina doesn't like this..."

The four of them headed somewhat apprehensively down the hall to the main room; to their relative amazement, Ein and Ledah were closing the door to the storeroom behind them at about the same time, with the taciturn angel still holding his folded cloak over one arm.

"So Ledah was watching him?" Cierra said with a sigh.

"Incredible," Serene muttered under her breath, whistling.

"Thanks, Mister Ledah!" Lina shouted, waving.

"We're so grateful to you for keeping Ein out of trouble," Fia told him sincerely.

Ledah just smiled and shook his head. "No need. I would prefer to avoid such a scene, myself."

"Was he like this in Asgard too?" Serene asked, cocking her head to one side.

"I'm sorry to say that he was," Ledah explained with a shrug. "And he still hasn't learned to behave any better."

"Aww, c'mon, Ledah, you don't need to tell them _that," _Ein complained, his whole face as bright scarlet as some of Lina's favorite fruits.

"He spent several days being chased around by a very homicidal Malice every month," Ledah told the girls, not paying any attention to Ein, whose face was getting steadily redder. "He seemed to be under the impression that what he saw was worth getting beaten from one side of the city to the other over and over again."

"You have _problems, _Ein," Serene said frankly, giving Ein a very weird look.

"So was it?" Cierra asked, looking genuinely curious.

"Wha?" Ein asked, blinking.

"Worth it?" Cierra embellished.

Ein said nothing, but got still redder. He turned to Ledah and smacked him in the shoulder. "Thanks a lot, smart one."

Still smiling wryly, Ledah shrugged again, unfazed. "As your friends, they have a right to know this kind of thing, wouldn't you say?"

"Shut up. I'm going to go wake up Rose," the wingless angel grumbled, leaving the girls laughing and Ledah smiling behind him.

---

Night had fallen once again.

It was hard to tell inside the house, but Cierra had given that as her guess and Ledah had confirmed it. From the lack of sound even upstairs, it had finally stopped snowing, leaving only a tiny crack of sky visible from the tops of the windows in Lina's room upstairs.

Cierra and Rose were up there now, probably asleep already; Fia and Serene had just tucked themselves into the bed on the far end of the room. Ledah sat in front of the fire, with each of his wings folded around someone--Ein on his right side, and Lina, with her hair taken down and a stuffed animal in her arms, on his left.

With a mumbled "nighty" to the boys, Lina had gone right to sleep; Ein and Ledah had spoken to each other in whispers for a few minutes afterwards, until Ein had followed the usually bouncy, treasure-loving little archer. So now, Ledah was sitting up alone, nursing his shyness as he stared unblinkingly into the blaze before him.

He had to say something soon. He had to know. The idea of rejection might shatter him, but it would surely be better than this half-life that trapped him now. What had happened with Ein today gave him a little hope, but he couldn't be sure until he said something.

He should've told Ein the truth two years ago, when he'd had the courage, when he'd thought he was dying, his soul ripped from his body by Hector and quickly being absorbed by Seth's seal. But he'd taken too much time, and he'd been cut off before he could get the words out. Since then, his slow recovery of the emotions he'd lacked had put a huge roadblock in front of him, building it higher and higher with each added complication in his heart--the shyness, awkwardness, nervousness. He'd become less sure of himself, even though he _knew _the truth of how he felt.

He had to say something... somehow...

But until then...

Silently, Ledah curled againt Ein's warm body, shivering slightly as the cold crawled up his spine. Resting his cheek against the younger angel's soft thick hair, he closed his eyes and sighed.

Somehow...

---

NEXT TIME: Some more detail about the "Ledah ending" of Riviera... :) Plus, of course, a vital lesson for our dear black-winged blondie: When no one's spreading rumors about you, and Ein isn't thinking of you 24/7, why are you sneezing so much? (XD)


	4. Memory

A Very Riviera Christmas

DISCLAIMER: Don't own Riviera, and can't seem to figure out how to get into area 5-9. It annoys me. I cannot get Chapter 8 without the Hell Key. It sucks. But I don't own Riviera, which is somewhat obvious because if I did, Ledah would've had a Trust meter (if not a Mood one) like the girls.

Warning: This chapter will go into more detail about how exactly Ledah managed to survive Chapter 6, which means that there'll be some pretty bloody flashback sequences. If it makes you squeamish, don't read. And besides that, there'll be (of course) more shonen-ai, and some material to work with...

_Ein stood shaking on the crystal path to the shattered Aquarium, his tremors so violent he could hardly stay on his feet. What he had seen paralyzed him, though he knew he should be doing something, _anything _he could. He barely even noticed when Einherjar slipped from his numb hands to clatter on the ground._

_Ledah was also trembling, but from pain and exhaustion rather than shock, clinging desperately to Lorelei's haft just to remain upright. His chest heaved with every breath he took, and his clothes were black with his own blood, which spattered unevenly on the crystal surface beneath him. His eyes were hooded, nearly closed; his face obscured by his hair, even more ragged than usual. Although his grip on his Diviner mostly hid the slash across his chest, Ein couldn't forget it was there--not only was blood still spurting from it to land in the swiftly spreading pool Ledah knelt in, but it was because of _him _that Ledah'd gotten it._

_He just couldn't believe what he'd seen or heard. Why had Ledah _risked _himself like that? He of all people should've known that he was in no condition to deal with Malice, so why'd he hurl himself between the two of them when she'd attacked? Sure, Ein might have been injured, but he would have been strong enough to retaliate, strike her down for good... while Ledah... he hadn't even had the strength to parry when she'd slashed him! What had he been _thinking?

_And his emotions... Ein'd had his suspicions since Ledah had passed the trials and received Lorelei, but hearing it out loud was just too horrible for words. He was caught painfully between wanting to throw his arms around his old friend and sob out his apologies and the desire to hit him for giving up something so _vital, _so important._

_It wasn't fair... it just wasn't fair!_

_Ledah coughed, slumping closer to the ground and clutching his chest as another burst of nearly-black blood escaped his lips. "Ein..." he managed in a whisper. "Fare...well..."_

_The spell holding Ein was broken--he bolted forward, collapsing to his knees before his friend, clasping Ledah's shoulders. "Ledah! LEDAH!"_

_"Live... Ein..." the mortally wounded angel said weakly, his voice broken. His eyes finally closed, freeing the tears that had built up in them._

_The world whirled around Ein as he pulled Ledah into his arms. "No... NO! Don't die! Not you, please, not my Ledah...!" Vaguely, the wingless angel heard Cierra speaking behind him, Lina's sobbing whimper, Rose's wild cry beside him. The only thing that mattered was the rapidly slowing rhythm of Ledah's heart, the increasing shallowness of each successive breath. "I don't wanna lose you... not you...! LEDAH! Why'd you do it, Ledah? Why!"_

_"Ein..."_

_It was Ursula's voice. Ein looked up, glaring wildly through the tears that spun the world into a blur around him._

_"Malice has returned to Hector, upon the Isle of Goriarte. They are very close to their goal of reviving Seth, the Sealed One. There is no time left--not even for grieving. If Hector is allowed to succeed, all of Riviera will suffer. You must go."_

_"No!" Ein shouted, his grip on Ledah's unresponsive body tightening. "I won't leave him! Even if there's nothing I can do... nothing anyone can do! I can't just leave him here, knowing this is happening because he chose to fight for me, for Riviera! If this is the way you treat the people who are willing to die for the land you love, then you're almost as bad as they are!"_

_"Ursula, isn't there something you can do?" It was Serene's voice, broken and pleading. "We all know Ledah's a Grim Angel, but he's like this because he tried to protect us! Please! You're Riviera's _guardian! _Don't you have even a little power to spare on his account? He's on our side, after all!"_

_"And he's Ein's friend," Fia said softly, her voice a gentle counterpoint to Lina's terrified sobbing. "Surely you don't mean for us to leave him to die alone...?"_

_"This is what we're supposed to be fighting for, isn't it?" Cierra asked. "Not just Riviera as a whole, but all the individual lives that Hector is trying to destroy? If we let _one _more person die, or lose their soul... just one... won't that be as bad as failing everyone?"_

_"...Perhaps you are right..." Ursula closed her eyes, clasping her hands at her breast. "But time is of the essence... you will not have long."_

_There was a brilliant flash, and then the world went black._

---

_When Ein could see again, the seven of them were standing at the entrance to Elendia._

_"Ursula does care, after all..." Fia said with a sigh._

_"But now that we're here, we've gotta do something!" Serene shouted. "If we can't help him right now, Ledah's gonna die!"_

_Another spasm wracked the angel's body; as Ein cradled him closely, he coughed again, leaving the shoulder of Ein's sleeveless tunic-jacket stained blackish violet._

_"We must take him to Grandfather," Fia responded assertively. "There, we can get the healers to work on him--I can try my hardest to help, as well. If he's coughing up blood already, there won't be much time or room for error, so we've got to go _now. _Ein, do you think you can carry him on your own?"_

_Still shaking slightly, Ein nodded. "Y..yeah..."_

_"Then let's go. We have to hurry..."_

_---_

Ein blinked awake, his breath coming in ragged gasps and his sides cold with sweat. Briefly, he shivered; he hated it when his dreams forced him to remember those kinds of things. The terror and the helplessness that he'd experienced then were things he never wanted to feel again, no matter what. The knowledge that Ledah had nearly died in his arms broke his heart, remembering how hard he'd strived to avoid getting his best friend hurt.

"What's wrong?"

Ein started; he'd forgotten where he'd fallen asleep. Shaking his head, he turned to look up at Ledah, who still sat straight before the fire, his wings carefully folded around both of those who'd chosen to stay with him. "Nothing. Just... memories."

"And are those memories so painful?" Ledah asked, shifting to slip an arm around Ein's shoulders. The wingless angel sighed and nestled closer, pressing himself against the black-winged seraph's side. "You were crying in your sleep."

Ein was silent, his chest beginning to ache again. How close, he wondered, how close had he really come to losing Ledah forever? Thanks to Ursula, he still had his best friend... but if she hadn't stepped in, either at Yggdrasil's summit or in the Maze of Shadows, what would life be _like? _He'd known true terror, and nearly been shattered, briefly... but an entire lifetime of grieving, of an empty place in his heart created by the death of his friend? The very idea of it made him shudder.

"Ein, talk to me," Ledah said softly, giving the younger angel's shoulders a gentle shake. "Don't close yourself off from me. Tell me what's wrong. Please... Ecthel..."

Ein made a face. "Don't call me that..."

"Why? It's a beautiful name. Ecthel." And on Ledah's soft whisper, it was... if only because of the way he spoke it, a promise and a prayer at the same time.

"Because I was only given that name after the Magi ripped out my wings in exchange for my Einherjar. Because it means, like Rose used to call me, _wingless angel. _I want to stay Ein in your eyes, in the eyes of all my friends."

"If you insist," Ledah replied. "But it's what you are. He who has suffered... the old meaning of your name... and your suffering has been great. You rose above that suffering, and became the man I'm proud to call my friend..."

"Oh, stop." Ein's cheeks were flamed as he snuggled a little closer. "Don't embarrass me like that... it's just an exaggeration anyway..."

Ledah smiled briefly, then gently stroked the length of Ein's back. The younger angel gave only a tiny wince of protest. "Was that what you dreamed... the loss of your wings...?"

Ein shook his head. "No... if I had, I'd have woken up everyone in the house screaming. I really should be glad I didn't remember that, but..."

"Then what was it? What was that painful?"

Ein gave Ledah a reproachful look, the hazel flecks in his cobalt eyes alight in the fire's glow. "Have you slept at all yet?" he asked, his voice suspicious and accusatory.

"Yes, a little."

"Keep this up and you're going to regret it," the dark-haired young man said flatly.

"I'll be fine. Stop avoiding the subject. Why don't you want to tell me?"

"I'm serious. You're gonna get sick. And I'm not _avoiding. _You are." He shifted, easing into a more comfortable position. "Get some sleep, okay?"

"I will if you will," Ledah said softly, smiling again, his carmine eyes gentle.

"Sounds good," Ein murmured, snuggling again. "And... thanks. For worrying, I mean."

"Of course." There was a note of humor in Ledah's voice, but Ein didn't catch it--he was already asleep again.

---

_Although Cierra and Serene eventually slept, and even Lina fell over, completely exhausted, Ein couldn't manage to close his eyes any longer than a blink. All through the night, his heart hammered as he sat up at the table, the ever-faithful Rose on his shoulder. Far too much terror flooded his veins to allow him easy rest. The knowledge that Ledah's life still hung precariously in the care of Elendia's healers, and that there was nothing he himself could do... it was killing him._

_How could he not have known Ledah would pull a stunt like that? Ein asked himself, over and over, as the night dragged on. On their journey through Heaven's Gate, there had been many times when the same sort of thing had happened--Ledah had repeatedly risked his life to protect the still-inexperienced Ein from the blunders he made, catching demons' attacks just in time with swift and skillful parries, once even covering Ein's body with his own to take a blow that could've killed the younger angel. And when Ein had proven himself stupid enough to attempt to get at treasure by striking unstable stone, it'd only been Ledah, who'd tackled him and held him to the ground, that had kept him from being severely injured when the blow started a small avalanche. Of course he would do the same thing in Yggdrasil. They'd always been friends, and their bond formed a sense of obligation that even the loss of nearly all of Ledah's emotions couldn't dent._

_So when Malice had attacked him..._

_Stupid, stupid, stupid! How could Ein have been so stupid? He knew Ledah better than anyone! How couldn't he have seen this coming? If he had... then maybe, there would've been something he could've done..._

_And now... Ledah might..._

_The tear that slipped down Ein's cheek burned like liquid flame. It was followed by another... and another... and another... until he was silently shaking, caught in a paroxysm of muffled sobs, with Rose desperately trying to say or do something to console him._

_"(Ledah will be alright--he's strong! You heard what he said... that he wasn't one to die in a place like that...! Fia's a strong healer, and so are the others--they'll be able to help him! So please, Ein... don't beat yourself up about all this!)"_

_"There's only so much that even an _angel's _body can take," Ein retorted, his voice twisted by the knot of tears caught in his throat. "And Ledah... first, everything _I _did, and then Malice attacking him _twice? _He just... even _he _couldn't...!" Viciously, Ein scrubbed a hand across his face, dashing tears away. "Why... why did all this have to happen...?"_

_Rose hopped off Ein's shoulder, padding around on the table to place a velvety paw on Ein's free hand. "(Ledah loves you, Ein. You know he couldn't bear the thought of anything happening to you. Even if he doesn't make it... that means he'll die for love, on his own terms, instead of just being murdered by Malice and added to Hector's little soul collection. I think it's beautiful to die for love.)"_

_"Love?" Ein managed. "Rose, Ledah _lost _his emotions! How could you say something like that?"_

_"(Because love's not like other emotions, is it?)" Rose asked him, placing both paws on Ein's forearm so that she could stare at him nose-to-nose. "(It goes so much deeper. I can't imagine anyone ever losing their ability to love. Can't you feel it? The bond you have with Ledah, with Fia and Lina and Serene and Cierra, with _me_--it's so different, so pure compared to your everyday feelings like happiness, jealousy, sadness... it's a step up from hope. Ein, Ledah loves you. He may not even realize how deep his feelings for you run, but he loves you. He loves you so much, he's willing to die for you. And no matter what happens tonight, that's something for you to remember forever--to have been loved by someone like that... is a blessing.)"_

_The door creaked slightly, and Fia staggered in, framed by the faint light of the impending dawn._

_She managed to make her way over to Ein's side; clasping his shoulder, she smiled wearily._

_"He's going to make it, Ein... Ledah's going to live!"_

_The wingless angel sat bolt upright in his seat, tears still on his face. "W..what?"_

_"It took us so long, but we managed to repair the worst damage to his body. Angels really are so much stronger than us Sprites... if he _had _been one of us, it would have been hopeless. But even though he'd lost so much blood... Ledah hung on just long enough for all our work to count. He'll be weak yet for a few days, but... if he's given time, I don't see any reason why he won't be back to normal eventually."_

_"Fia...!" Lurching out of his chair, Ein threw his arms around her and broke down out of sheer relief, collapsing to the floor and taking her down with him. "Thank you... thank you so much...!"_

_"It's... the least I could do..." she managed, her entire face aflame. "You're... you're my friend, Ein... and isn't... isn't this what friends do...?"_

---

When Ein next opened his eyes, Fia and Serene were crawling out of bed on the far end of the room, Ledah was slowly starting to blink awake, and Lina, nestled between Ledah's side and wing, was yawning enormously.

"Mornin'," he managed, stretching to work out the kinks in the muscles of his legs.

"What's to eat?" Lina mumbled. "Lina wants breakfast..."

"Did you three sleep okay?" Serene asked, covering a yawn with the back of her hand.

"Yeah. It's actually really warm," Ein told her.

"Great. I've got dibs tonight, then. I wanna see what all the fuss is about."

Ein sweatdropped. "You sure are popular lately, Ledah."

"Mmn..." As Lina wriggled out from under his wing, shuffling off to pester Fia about breakfast with her stuffed bunny trailing by one ear, the blonde seraph twisted, twitched both wings, and resettled, closing his eyes again. He now lay with his head and as much of his shoulders as his folded wings would allow virtually resting in Ein's lap.

"Urk! L..Ledah! What the... what are you doing?" Ein yelped, barely suppressing the twitch reflex that would have dumped the other angel on the hardwood floor.

No response--Ledah was out cold.

"Uh... do I even want to ask?" Serene asked, quirking one eyebrow.

"I think I understand," Ein replied, sighing. "I woke up once in the middle of the night--Ledah was still sitting up, wide awake. I'd been having some... well, odd dreams, and he said I'd been acting strangely in my sleep, so... I don't think he slept at all until I got after him about it, a little later than that." Awkwardly, he laid a hand on his fellow angel's shoulder, running a finger back and forth over the creased fabric of his priest's clothing. "I really don't want to wake him... if he tried to function today without sleep, it'd be really bad. He's already staying up all night with barely any warmth, so..."

"Here," Fia said from behind Ein. The wingless angel looked up--she was carrying the quilt from her own bed in her arms. "Lay this over him... he'll just get sick if we let him sleep like this."

"You're a lifesaver, Fia," Ein told her, taking the quilt and gently spreading it over Ledah's tightly curled body and wings while keeping the hem as far away from the hearth as he could. "Thank you so much."

Fia just smiled and headed for the storage room. "I think we've got a few loaves of bread that we can use to make a little toast for breakfast..."

"What kind of 'odd dreams', per say?" Serene asked, giving Ein a sidelong look.

"Not what you're thinking," Ein assured her hastily. "Really. It was..." Looking down at Ledah and visibly sobering, the wingless angel tenderly pushed stray strands of blonde hair out of his friend's face. "...A nightmare about Yggdrasil..."

"Oh... really?" Looking sympathetic, Serene knelt on Ein's free side, giving him a one-armed hug. "Cheer up, okay? It could've been so much worse, after all."

"I know." Ein shivered. "Just remembering how I felt back then, and the agony I was in, back at the Maze of Shadows, when I thought I'd lost him for good... it's awful. How do you stand it, Serene? I only ever had to deal with losing _one _person... and your entire village got wiped out! How can you manage to move forward, after everything that's happened?"

The last Arc shook her head, smiling bitterly. "I just keep putting one foot in front of the other, and hope that someday things'll be better. I'll see them all again one day in Valhalla, I hope... and you guys all help so much...! I'm just really lucky to have friends like you all... you're as good a whole new family for me."

"Really? I'm glad to hear that."

"So, like... what kind of toast d'you want?" Serene asked, winking. "I'd say 'c'mon, let's go', only it seems like you'll be down here most of the morning."

"No kidding..." Ein sighed. "Well, just plain with a little butter, I guess. And make sure Fia saves a slice for Ledah, in case he does wake up sometime soon."

"Unlikely, but it'll save food, right?" Giggling and stretching, Serene headed off. "Hey, Fia! I've got Ein's breakfast order, if you wannit..."

"Did somebody say breakfast?" Rose mumbled from the stairs, scrubbing sleep out of her eyes. Upon getting a clear look at Ein and Ledah, she burst out laughing.

"It's not that funny," Ein said sourly.

"Yes, it _is! _Ohmigawd, you two are just so _cute!"_

"You are a _sadist. _My legs are falling asleep already."

"But it's just soooo adorable! I bet he's really comfortable too--from my experience, you're a pretty good pillow there, Ein." Rose giggled. "Now _there's _a trusting soul. Just think of all the mean things you could do to him from that position... you could dump him on the floor, mess with his hair, color on his face, pull out his feathers, take off his shirt..."

"Come on, Rose," Ein complained. "Don't be mean."

"...steal his first kiss without him knowing, hide his rosary, molest him..."

_"Rose..."_

"...put Serene's kitty hat on him, deflower him..."

"ROSE!" Face flaming, Ein waved a fist at her. "I would NOT!"

_"You _know that, but does _he?" _Rose quipped, winking. "Not really. And yet he falls asleep on you anyway... awwww. The love is so sweet!"

"Go eat breakfast and leave me alone," Ein groaned, head-slumping.

Serene, heading back across the room with Ein's toast in one hand, looked from the angels to the familiar and back again. "What about my hat?"

Rose burst out laughing again, and Ein just shook his head.

"Trust me, Serene... you don't wanna know..."

---

_"Ein? Wake up, okay?"_

_With a soft grumble, he did. It was Soala, the violet-haired witch, who was looking down at him after poking his shoulder a few times._

_"Whassit?"_

_"The angel you brought in's awake, and he's asking for you."_

_"Oh." Sitting up, Ein stretched. "Okay, I'll come. Poor Ledah... he's probably really disoriented. He was unconscious when we brought him here, so... I doubt he'll have any idea where he is..."_

_"He did seem rather confused. Let's go, then..."_

_Doing his best to shake off sleep, Ein followed Soala to the Elder's house. Lying in a low bed on the house's far side, surrounded by Claude, Ladie, Mylene, Rebecca, and a few others Ein didn't know, was Ledah._

_Heading over to his friend, Ein knelt so that they would be on eye level and smiled. "Good morning."_

_Ledah shivered; Ein noticed that he'd apparently been stripped down before Elendia's healers worked on him--from what the wingless angel could see, Ledah wasn't wearing anything but the tight linen bandages that covered his wounds and his silver rosary. "What's... going on...?" he asked weakly, a plaintive note to his voice that Ein had never heard before._

_"Don't worry--just lie still for now. You were hurt pretty badly, and for a while we didn't think you were going to make it. This is Elendia, a village of Sprites located around the World Tree. It's where Ursula sent me when we were separated back at Heaven's Gate." Careful to avoid Ledah's injuries, Ein placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. "You remember what happened in Yggdrasil, right?"_

_"Yes..." Ledah's carmine eyes met Ein's cobalt ones, searching. "And you spared my life again, didn't you...?"_

_"You're my friend. No matter what you say or do, you're my friend. And I can't stand for any friend of mine suffering and dying like that. Ursula herself agreed with me--she's the one who transported us from Yggdrasil back here; if we'd had to carry you all through the World Tree, it would've been too late by the time we got back to Elendia."_

_"Malice...?"_

_"She got away." Ein's free hand balled into her fist. "I'll have a few things to say to her, the next time we meet. You're both Grim Angels, and you both know what Hector's really up to--how could she do something like that?"_

_"Hector...!" Eyes sharpening, Ledah struggled into a sitting position. "There's... there's no time! Hector is... only a few souls away from attaining his goal, the resurrection of... of Seth... you must hurry, and stop him if you can! This... is not... the will of... the gods... unnh..."_

_"Lie down! Take it easy!" With gentle hands, Ein coaxed Ledah back down to the sheets. "I know about what Hector's doing. But all the same--I'm not going anywhere until you're feeling better. Hector still can't enter Riviera as long as Ursula's protecting it, and as far as I know she's still got Cefiro all over Yggdrasil. I got Malice pretty good before she figured out that I was serious about fighting her--she's still hurt too badly to start soul-collecting again. The Accursed are sealed, so no more demons will be sprouting up from Niflheim. We've got a few days just to rest, and recover from everything that's happened."_

_"You're a fool," Ledah managed, still feebly trying to sit up despite Ein's restraining hands. "The best course of action would be... to strike now, while... the enemy is at its weakest..."_

_"I know I'm a fool. I still barely know what I'm doing. But I know that leaving you here, in a place you don't know anything about, in the condition you're in would be cruel and selfish. Saving Riviera is _not _just about saving the land. It's also about saving each individual life that exists here, and all the lives of those who want to protect this place. Saving you is every bit as important as saving this island."_

_Finally settling, Ledah just smiled. "Naïve as ever..."_

_"So what? So maybe I am naïve. I still think it's better than not caring. This whole death-in-exchange-for-life thing is messed up. No individual should have to be sacrificed for the sake of an ideal. You're my friend, Ledah, and always will be. You've lost enough in this life already. I'm not going anywhere until I know you'll be as good as ever."_

_"You're determined," the blonde angel commented. "Then, Ein, I have only one request..."_

_"What is it?" Ein asked._

_"When you travel to Hector's castle, on the Isle of Goriarte... take me with you."_

---

After two changes of firewood, Ledah finally opened his eyes.

"Hi," Ein said awkwardly, looking down at him.

"...Hi..." Ledah shifted a little, then slowly sat up, Fia's quilt swiftly slipping off his body. "What... am I...?"

"You were awake for about five seconds this morning, and then you fell asleep again," Ein informed him. "I told you to go to sleep at _night, _but it doesn't seem like you listened very well. Ow--aggh... ow ow ow ow..."

"What's wrong?" Ledah, pausing in the middle of shoving his hair out of his face, turned to look at his friend worriedly.

"When you fell asleep, you fell asleep _on me. _Ow. Ow ow ow... my legs kinda went to sleep too. Ow ow ow ow ow... pain..."

"Sorry."

"No biggie. Just... get a pillow next time..." Wincing, Ein stood.

"You could've gotten up."

"That would have meant that you didn't get any sleep though," the wingless angel reasoned. "Ouch. You're my friend, Ledah. I couldn't just dump you like that..."

"Oh..."

"Hey, look who's finally up!" Serene crowed as she sauntered down the stairs. "You hungry? Want some lunch? You just missed it, but we saved some for you."

"Sure..." Carefully folding Fia's quilt, Ledah stood and followed the last Arc into the storage room, leaving Ein to work out the kinks in his legs alone.

---

The day passed slowly but peacefully. To keep Lina's mind off their predicament, Serene offered to start a checkers tournament, in which Cierra and Ein also participated. Rose worked on her book, and Fia roped Ledah into helping her rearrange the storage room for easier access to the food supplies. Once that was done, there was dinner to make, and after that, Ledah surprised Ein by suggesting that they spar for a while. With the girls as an audience, they cleared a space in the middle of the largest room and had at each other, matching blow for blow with their Diviners. The mock fight kept on for almost an hour until the two of them admitted that they were sufficiently tired that they didn't feel like going on--and then, Fia, Serene, Lina, and Cierra decided they wanted to do something similar. It was a lasting form of entertainment until Rose finally decreed that it was bedtime, thank you very much.

Lina took Serene's place with Fia in the downstairs bed; Rose and Cierra headed back upstairs. And Ledah took his place by the fire again, spreading his wings to let Ein and Serene curl up at his sides.

"These really are soft," Serene said with some surprise as she ran a hand over the inner side of Ledah's left wing. "If you shed these again in spring, I want 'em. Maybe I can get Soala to make me something out of them..."

Ledah sweatdropped and fidgeted. "Fine, but don't touch..."

"Is the great solitary angel ticklish?" Serene asked, giggling.

The blonde seraph turned his eyes skyward and didn't answer.

"Don't worry, I won't exploit your hidden weakness." Smiling, Serene snuggled closer. "G'night, boys. Ledah, please maim Ein if he says or does anything pervy."

"Get some actual sleep tonight, okay?" Ein asked, resting his head on Ledah's shoulder. "I don't want a repeat performance of today."

"I will." Leaning his cheek against Ein's soft hair, Ledah closed his eyes, trying to stifle the swift chills that ran along his body.

"Night, then."

"...Sleep well, Ein..."

---

And apparently, Ledah had slept the night, for he was just as awake in the morning as the others. Ein heaved a mental sigh of relief. He didn't want any further trouble with his friend, and their situation was awkward enough without one of them acquiring a skewed sleep schedule.

Or at least, Ein was relieved, until...

Roaming the room until Fia finished up with breakfast, Ledah suddenly stopped short, looking slightly perplexed, and sneezed.

Ein stared.

"Did you just...?"

He got his answer with another sneeze.

Ein groaned. _"Ledah..."_

_"What, _Ein?"

The wingless angel stood, walked over to his friend, and brushed his bangs off his forehead, resting the back of his hand against it as he did so. "I thought you looked a bit flushed this morning... and your forehead's a little warm, too. You're getting sick."

"I don't get--" Ledah began, but had to break off in the middle of his sentence to sneeze again.

"I know this is kind of a bad time to say 'I told you so', but I did--"

"Don't make a big deal out of it. I'm fine," Ledah insisted, pulling away from Ein and taking a few steps in another direction.

Until, without any warning, he collapsed to his knees, barely catching himself with splayed hands and outstretched wings.

---

NEXT TIME: Winter flu is a bitch, isn't it? Especially when the person who's got it doesn't usually get sick and doesn't have much resistance. And Ein's left with a few heavy things to process, after striking up a conversation with a half-delirious Ledah... Plus, a little more description of Riviera's "Ledah ending"!


	5. On the Other Side of Despair

A Very Riviera Christmas

DISCLAIMER: Don't own nada. Zero. Zip. I'm poor. But I did get Lorelei from Ledah after I fought him, so yay. Happy. Something of his that I can keep...

Author's Note: Joo. Me again. Really bad mood right now, because stupid Malice isn't letting me freaking S-rank her so that I can get Skadi. (growls) Malice is a pain in the butt anyway, and while I generally do feel some pity for her, right now I've been shaking my head at her going "how dumb are you?" over what she supposedly "gave up". While my feelings toward Ledah generally consist of a mixture of "OMG tragic bishie! Needs huggling--(glomp)" and "I want to beat you with a nine-iron", Malice just gets the nine-iron. Or a pat on the head if I'm feeling generous.

Just realized that you can only get the Black Feathers in Chapter 6's secret area... (headslams computer screen... REPEATEDLY) which I missed getting into... at least I have Lorelei though. (siiiigh) And I can try for the Black Feathers again next time, since I'm now on a collecting endings tangent.

Soooo... anyway! Which do you think would be more amusing: Malice in a pink frilly apron or Ledah wearing a "Can't Dance Without Arrows" T-shirt? No, I don't want to know for any specific reason, other than curiosity. And maybe I'll end up drawing one of them. Just thought I'd lighten the mood...

Bleh. So much for that idea... anyway, how are you liking the story so far? I won't know unless you review, so take pity on a poor author and feed the starving button. I've been having fun playing out character relationships, as you may have noticed through certain scenes (i.e. bathtime, naptime, little midnight chats). I wanna be sure to develop Ein and Ledah's kawaii little romance properly before I set certain events in motion. Also, do not despair, Fia lovers--her unrequited feelings for Ein _are _going to be a big part of the story, and she's probably going to have a large section to herself for learning how to deal.

Here's the promised continuation to the "why I am obsessed with Ledah/Ein" thingie two chapters ago... Hooking Ein up with each of the six supporting characters has its own appeal. Ein/Fia is your stereotypical happy-ending pairing, loved by fluff-shippers everywhere. Ein/Lina is a cute and playful pairing that allows for a lot of humor. Ein/Serene is pretty much the only way to show Serene's softer side, and can develop through serious or comical scenes. Ein/Cierra is also really cute and playful, but allows for more mature undertones that Ein/Lina can't develop. Ein/Rose lets you use henpecking, and henpecking is awesome, not to mention a load of fun.

Aside from being tragic and angsty, which I love, Ledah/Ein has _huge _developmental value. Not only do you get to show their friendship evolving into something more intimate (come on, all the girls are absolutely mad about Ein, so there's not much work involved there), but you also get to explore the gentler and more vulnerable side to Ledah's character. Although general perception of the pairing views Ledah as dominant because he's older and more experienced than Ein, choosing Ledah as _submissive _not only accentuates Ein's inner strength but portrays Ledah's feelings towards Ein as "I trust you" rather than "I want you". Which is soooo much cuter. Even if it is an absolute bitch to work out positioning that way, because of Ledah's wings. :) You can attribute most of this pairing analysis to a certain late-night discussion I had with friend and fellow author Thalia the Tiger...

BTW, does anyone have the English incantation for Ledah's Rose Kreuz "Break Out!" skill? I have the ones for Crimson Courreges and Lost Seraph, but I kinda powned him before he had the chance to use that particular skill... heheh. If you know it, just leave it in a review, 'kay?

Here's today's warning: More flashbacks, end-of-game spoilers (duh), love confessions, and implications as to how Ledah's emotions were removed. Too intense for you, then don't read.

---

"Ledah!"

Adrenaline already flooding his bloodstream, Ein dashed to his friend's side, kneeling down next to him and putting supportive hands on the other angel's shoulders. "Ledah, I don't think you should be trying anything like that right now! Are you alright!"

"I told you, I'm _fine," _the blonde seraph insisted, shaking off Ein's hold and standing slowly. However, as soon as he tried to take two more steps, his legs buckled and rebelled, sending him sprawling back onto the floor again.

"You're anything _but_ fine! You need to lie down! FIA! CIERRA! I need some help over here!"

The witch and fencer trotted in from the storeroom, mixed looks of confusion and worry on their faces. Seeing Ledah's condition brought hurry to their movements as they headed over to their friends.

"What happened?" Fia asked breathlessly.

"I think he's getting sick," Ein reported, looking back and forth between Ledah and the girls. "He sneezed a couple times, and he's got what feels like a fever--he's having trouble holding his own weight."

"Stop talking about me like I'm not here," Ledah managed through gritted teeth.

Cierra, removing one of her gloves, gently laid her hand on the angel's forehead; he winced at her touch. "How have you been feeling lately?" she asked calmly.

"I keep _telling _you, I feel--" Breaking off, he ducked his head to sneeze again, his wings flaring in embarrassment.

"Tell us the truth, Ledah," Ein begged. "I don't want you getting any sicker than you already are... your health depends on the care you'll get, and we won't know what to do unless you tell us!"

"Tired," Ledah admitted, his voice thick. "And a little... disoriented..."

Fia sighed and made a face, looking a little at a loss. "There's been a virus going around lately that seems to have come in from foreign lands, called 'influenza'... this sounds a little like it. Congestion, fatigue, and fever... as it's a virus, there's not much that magic or herbal remedies will be able to do for you... I'm sorry, Ledah, but the only thing I can suggest is that you try to wait it out. We'll move you to one of the beds, of course... with three in a futon in front of the fire, it shouldn't be all that bad."

"But--" the angel tried to protest.

"Please don't object," Cierra said, folding her arms. "Fia and I have some background in this sort of thing--we know what we're talking about. You want to get better, don't you?"

Ledah sighed. "...Yes..."

"Then you're going to need to lie down and stay rested. I'm afraid that things will only get worse before they get better, but that tends to be the way of sicknesses. You've got to give your body time to fight off the disease. Ein will stay with you--so will we, if you ever need us."

"You and Rose won't mind giving up the bedroom on the second floor, will you? It tends to be a little warmer up there, after all..." Fia said slowly, turning to the red-haired witch.

"Not at all. We'll use the futon, and one of you will need to switch off with us every night."

"I'm sorry..." Ledah tried, but was cut off by yet another sneeze.

"Don't apologize," Cierra told him, smiling brightly and ruffling his messy golden hair. "You're sick. You should cut yourself a little slack!"

"Cierra's right. You had your turn taking care of us, so now it's time for us to take care of you," Fia explained.

"...I give up..."

"Do you think you can make the stairs on your own?" Ein asked anxiously. "You still seem kinda dizzy, and I don't know if you can support yourself..."

"Most likely not..." Ducking his head just slightly, Ledah looked up at Ein, seeming almost shy for a moment, that soft flame lighting his pale cheeks. "Could you...?"

"What?" Realizing what Ledah meant, Ein smiled and nodded. "Of course." Veering a little closer to his friend, he firmly cinched his arm around the blonde's waist as Ledah gripped his shoulder. "You can lean harder than that, I don't mind."

Even walking as slowly and carefully as they could (Ein forced the pace, as Ledah seemed more than a little shaky), the two angels only made it halfway to the stairs before Ledah's joints gave way, taking Ein down with him as he collapsed into a kneeling position.

"I'm sorry... it seems that I've grown even weaker than I thought..."

"You don't need to apologize," Ein said gently, shaking his head and smiling. "It's okay to be weak sometimes, Ledah... haven't you learned that yet?"

"... ..." The blonde didn't reply, giving only a sad, self-mocking smile in response.

"Okay, since things won't work _that _way, then..." Ein sighed. "Ledah, you're gonna need to let go for a minute. I'm sorry, but it looks like I have to do this..."

As the black-winged seraph did as he was told, Ein very gently slipped his left hand and forearm beneath Ledah's legs, and put his right arm around his friend's back, right below his wings. With another sigh, the wingless angel carefully stood, supporting Ledah's full weight in his arms as he did so.

"Ein...!" The soft, pink rosebud glow that had covered the blonde's face burst into sudden, lurid bloom, casting his cheeks the same rosy red as his cloak. "What... why are you...?"

"You don't have to say anything," Ein murmured, blushing a little himself. "You can't walk, so I'll carry you. It's that simple. Friends do that for each other, Ledah."

Sighing, Ledah gave in, leaning his head against Ein's shoulder and tucking his cheek against the other angel's collar. "... ..." Silent, he half-closed his eyes, giving in to the tender awkwardness of such vulnerability.

Ein didn't say anything either, but he had two good reasons for that--first, though he didn't want to admit it, Ledah was _heavy. _Carrying a full-grown, winged man across two rooms and up a flight of stairs was harder than he'd thought, but he wanted to seem strong for his friend's sake.

Secondly, Ein was forced to admit to himself that having Ledah lean against him this way, with those soft, silky, unevenly cut tufts of blonde hair brushing his throat, felt kind of nice. It was as weird as his thoughts for the past few days--the realization that Ledah was actually quite attractive, his reluctance to spy on his friend taking a bath, the decision to allow the blonde to sleep on him rather than waking him up--and Ein was starting to wonder what was making him act that way. It couldn't be... but could it? He'd have to think about it once Ledah was safely tucked into bed, asleep... he didn't really want his friend to ask what he was pondering, not about _this._

"Okay... here we are," Ein announced, carefully shifting Ledah's body in his arms so that he could turn down the bedsheets, then gently deposited the blonde on the mattress, lying on his side to give his wings enough room without crushing them against the bed or the wall. Noting that Ledah seemed barely conscious by this point, Ein sighed and reluctantly undid the ties to the seraph's brilliant red cape and slipped off his well-worn black leather shoes, placing both articles of clothing on the desk that lay near the bed. "Ledah...? Would you mind giving me a hand here?"

No response. Was the other angel asleep already? Ein's face flushed further, but he knew that _someone _had to do it, and none of the girls would volunteer for such a task. Thinking _This is _SO _bad _to himself, the wingless angel softly undid Ledah's vest, careful not to jostle his wings too roughly as he removed it, then did the same with the seraph's dark red temple clothes, first arranging Ledah's body in a sitting positon against his own so that he'd be able to pull the thin robe over his friend's head and wings.

Muttering "Ireallyshouldn'tbedoingthis" under his breath and blushing madly, Ein slowly unbuttoned the snap at the waistband of the cloth pants Ledah wore beneath his priest's robes and pulled them a little further open before gently (albeit rather quickly) tugging them over the other angel's hips and legs.

Pausing for a moment, Ein looked over the length of Ledah's body. He was loosely curled on the now somewhat rumpled sheets, eyes closed, wings flopped behind him uncaringly, the cross on his rosary lying in the palm of his open right hand, glittering in the low candlelight. His hair was tousled from everything Ein had been doing; the wingless angel refused to let himself give in to the urge to straighten it. Ledah would just get it mussed up in a few minutes again, anyway.

Eyes lingering on his friend's white loincloth, Ein groaned inwardly. _Don't tell me I have to take _that _off, too...? _Stripping off Ledah's _other _clothes had been intimate enough... but _this? _The thought made him shiver. No way. It was too personal. But surely, sweat would eventually dirty it too, once the worst of the fever set in? Wasn't it always best to strip a fever victim _completely _in their bed?

_Argh! I just CAN'T do that! _Ein shook his head firmly, even as he helplessly sat at Ledah's side. _No way! It'd be taking advantage of how helpless he is right now... even though I really do want to take the best care of him I can..._

"You can stop there, thanks," came Ledah's hoarse and breathy whisper.

"You're still awake?" Ein stared. Just barely--Ledah hadn't even moved, other than to open his eyes the tiniest slit. "Good... I was trying to avoid it anyway... but how are you feeling?"

"Bad..." was the other angel's answer.

"Then get some sleep, okay?" Ein said worriedly, forgetting his earlier resolution and smoothing Ledah's hair. "Just a minute... I'll pull up the comforter for you. You probably shouldn't be moving."

"Mm..."

By the time Ein had unfolded the sheets and comforter and managed to very carefully arrange them around Ledah's body, the seraph's eyes had closed again.

"Gods bless thy dreams," Ein whispered automatically. He paused, then almost timidly kissed two fingers and pressed them to Ledah's cheek.

There was no response.

Sighing deeply in relief, Ein sat at Ledah's bedside, resting his head against the edge of the mattress. If his friend slept restlessly, he'd know. Assuring himself with that thought, he closed his own eyes and drifted into Sleep's realm.

---

_"Damnit, Hector! Get back here!"_

_It was too late--the traitorious magus had already disappeared completely within the magic circle, retreating to some other part of the Maze of Shadows._

_Ein let out a muted sound of frustration, slashing Einherjar through the air, then turned to his friends. All of them had given everything they had in their battle against Hector--Lina had flopped exhaustedly onto the ground, her still-strung bow and an arrow in either hand, Cierra was mopping sweat off her brow, tilting her hat back as she did so, and Fia was tending one of Serene's wounds, her face pallid and her hands clammy. The last Arc herself was out of breath, not even objecting to the fencer's ministrations, when usually she'd be raising bloody hell about the sting of Fia's raw healing magic. Rose had perched on the head of Cierra's staff, not even caring about the few bloodspatters on her fur when usually she'd be washing them away obsessively._

_Ledah, beside him, sighed and shifted his weight to lean on Lorelei as he stood staring apathically at Hector's magic circle. Sweat dampened his golden hair, and his breathing rasped in his chest, making his wings shudder as his ribcage moved. Now, as in Yggdrasil, his carmine eyes were listless and lackluster, his gaze blank with exhaustion._

_"You guys think you'll be okay?" Ein asked, looking back and forth from one tired face to the next as he tried to assess their situation._

_"Yeah, in a couple minutes," Serene reported._

_"Owwwww," Lina whined._

_"We'll only need a short rest before we pursue Hector further," Cierra ensured him._

_"I just need to sit down for a moment... that's all," Fia murmured, spreading out her skirts around her as she did so._

_"(Don't you need a break too, Ein?)" Rose yowled, her jade eyes anxious._

_"I'll be okay," the wingless angel assured his familiar. "I didn't get hit as badly as some of you guys did..."_

_"Time is of the essence," Ledah reminded him, but even his usually strong and duty-minded remarks seemed half-hearted._

_"But if we go pick a fight with Hector and Malice now, who knows what they could pull on us? This is their territory, not ours. And you need a breather too, Ledah. Remember what you told me, back in Heaven's Gate? We can't carry out our mission and save Riviera dead." With a short burst of breath, Ein himself flopped down into a sitting position. "Come on, rest. You're absolutely drenched in sweat."_

_"... ..." Though Ledah didn't respond, his eyes softened as he slowly lowered himself to the ground, shifting Lorelei so that its deadly prongs were balanced on his shoulder._

_"Just one more battle," Fia mused. "One battle, and then it'll all be over at long last."_

_"Lina feels like this has lasted forever," the little carrot-top remarked._

_"Yeah. Now that I think of it... I can't really imagine going on the rest of my life without you guys," Serene said slowly. "Even over so short a time... we've all gotten so close."_

_"I'm glad I have the excuse of the Magic Guild to stay in Elendia," Cierra told the others with a giggle and a smile._

_Ein, sighing, turned to Ledah. "What about you? I know Serene and Cierra're probably gonna stay with us, but what are you going to do after this fight is over?"_

_Ledah was silent for a while, then looked back at the younger angel and shook his head. "I'm... not all that sure. I cannot return to Asgard like this. For disobeying orders, even Hector's orders, the two of us will probably be sentenced to banishment. And... I don't know where I would go, be that the case."_

_"Then stay with us," Fia suggested warmly. "Any friend of Ein is a friend to Elendia."_

_"I hope you do," Ein murmured, drawing close to the seraph. "But... no matter what happens after this coming fight, I promise... I will find a way to help you. No one should have to go through life the way you are, unable to feel joy or sadness. We're going to find a way to fix this... together..."_

---

Within two days, Ledah's fever had soared to outrageous heights. Ein was glad that his friend remained mostly unconscious; seeing him shivering while flame-cheeked and soaked in sweat was bad enough, but seeing him delirious, unsure of where he was or if he was even safe, was infinitely worse. The number of short jolts in which Ledah woke abruptly with a hoarse plea to the long-dead Hector to leave Ein be--"I'll do it, I'll do it, just don't...!"--were starting to be downright creepy. Each time, whoever was on bedside duty had to run and get Ein in order to convince Ledah that everything was alright, and the ordeal with Hector well over.

"He really isn't used to being sick, is he?" Fia asked once, shaking her head.

"N..no. I've never known him to get this badly ill in my life," Ein replied.

"You can tell... I would've expected him to have a higher resistance to this virus, otherwise." Catching the look on Ein's face, she waved her hands anxiously. "No, no, it's not like that, not life-threatening, but... he'll just have a rough time of it until he gets better."

Ein personally thought that "rough time" was a bit of an understatement. Three days bedridden with no glimpse of a light at the end of the tunnel was quite obviously playing hell with Ledah. During his lucid moments--of which there were _very _few--the blonde angel was depressed and withdrawn, unwilling to share conversation unless prodded into it by Ein or Lina.

It wasn't as if anyone didn't do their best, either. Unless he absolutely had to be somewhere else, Ein remained steadfastly at his old friend's side, whether he was awake or asleep. Fia came at least once or twice a day to check on Ledah's condition; Cierra dipped into the house's herbal stores to make sweet-smelling soothing teas; Lina shyly slipped a plush kitten under the seraph's arm when no one was looking (though he didn't comment on its appearance, Ein caught Ledah absently running a hand over the stuffed animal's flank a few times); Serene kept Ein company with card games during his long vigils. And Rose, banishing everyone else from the room whenever she arrived, read snippets of her book about their journey to save Riviera aloud for Ledah's benefit.

Ein had been sitting up for about two hours when Ledah sat bolt upright with a wild cry, clutching at his chest and breathing heavily, scattering black feathers all over the room with a spasmodic twitch of his wings.

"What's wrong?" Ein demanded, placing his hands on Ledah's shoulders and rubbing them supportingly, his gaze flicking over the other angel's form.

"Dream," Ledah managed, a violent tremor running up his spine.

"Must have been one hell of a dream," Ein murmured, giving his friend a loose hug. "But it's okay now... you're awake, here, with all of us. Okay?"

"I... I _know _it was a dream but... I could feel it," Ledah whispered, his eyes horribly clear. "The memory... those cold hands reaching into my chest, and the sound of something tearing... and then... _pain... _pain you wouldn't believe, could never understand until you felt it yourself... oh, gods..." He shuddered again. "I was _terrified... _then all of a sudden, that terror vanished, replaced by this emptiness, this... this feeling of _loss, _that something important was just _gone... _I wanted to collapse, to cry, but no matter how hard I tried, the tears just wouldn't come... _they just wouldn't come..._

"Lorelei... Lorelei was all that kept me alive those days afterwards... and you... the tears you cried for me, when you'd heard I was 'hurt'..." Ledah shuddered. "The first time you ever wept when I could not... Everything felt so wrong, and the orders I was given confused me at first until I just learned to accept whatever I was told, become a weapon in the hands of whoever wielded me...

"But I never _wanted_ it to be like this... _I didn't think it was going to be like this... _if I'd known, if I'd only realized, I would never have agreed to accept that trial. I would never have decided to become a Grim Angel, even for all of Asgard..."

"Oh, gods, Ledah," Ein whispered, and clutched the other angel's body close to his, wrapping his arms as tightly around the blonde as he could manage. "I'm so sorry... you should never've had to go through that, ever! Ledah... my Ledah... that was... that was just as bad for you as it was for me...! Worse! Ledah, I'm so sorry, I wish there was something I could've done, I wish..."

"Ein... Ecthel... there's... something I've wanted to tell you for a long time..." As Ein helped him resettle into the disheveled bedclothes, Ledah looked up, face flushed with fever, carmine eyes vulnerable and unguarded. "Will... you listen to me?"

---

_"Ein! I win!"_

_The voice came from somewhere behind him; the wingless angel whirled to see that Malice had appeared within the circle of his comrades via some sort of magic device. There was a sharp, metallic clatter that made Ein wince; he couldn't see with the girls in panic, but someone had dropped their weapon. Ein caught only a flash of the devilish Grim Angel's face, but he saw the desperation and intensity of her black eyes and knew that whatever she was up to, he and his friends would be in for it now._

_"Malice!"_

_Her form evaporated and reappeared in the middle of the huge emblem that lay in the center of the floor. Ein let out an involuntary cry as he realized that she'd taken Ledah with her--with her left arm, she'd trapped his arms behind his back, against her own body; with her right, she held the haft of her Diviner axe Skadi against his bared throat, with the wicked spike at the back of the blade just brushing the vulnerable flash of white skin where Ledah's vital artery lay._

_"... ...!" Though Ledah said nothing, his attention was focused warily on the Grim Angel behind him, his head thrown back in an attempt to avoid injury._

_"Master Hector!" Malice cried, her voice uneven and ragged as her breathing--she hadn't recovered from her defeat at Ein and Ledah's hands. "Use this traitor's soul to revive Seth...!"_

_Hector smirked from under the hood of his magus' robes. "Well done, Malice."_

_Ein lurched forward a step, his eyes going huge. "Ledah!"_

_"Complete the ritual!" Malice yelled feverishly, her voice breaking as she struggled to keep her hold on Ledah. "For the sake of Asgard! Take what is rightfully yours!"_

_Hector's smirk grew. "Alright. This will be the dawn of a new era!" He gathered black-violet energy in one pallid hand, then sent it hurtling through the air._

_Ein cried out as the blast enveloped both Grim Angels, his short yell drowned out by their intertwining screams of pain. When the light cleared, the magic insignia was glowing, and both Malice and Ledah were staggering, breathing heavily._

_"Nnh...!" Letting out a second, barely audible cry, Ledah collapsed to his knees, his ribcage heaving with the effort of breathing._

_"LEDAH!"_

_Clinging to Skadi's haft in a manner that seemed all too similar to Ledah's back in Yggdrasil, trembling badly, an inch-wide ribbon of blood slipping steadily from the corner of her mouth, Malice spoke, her voice a broken, shaky whisper: "Fina...lly, my fu...ture... has... be...en re...deem...ed..." With that, she slumped to her knees, her grip on her weapon loosening, her forehead leaning against its silvery haft, her black eyes nearly closed, lusterless._

_Ein stared, horrified. Hector had just sacrificed the soul of his own loyal subject...!_

_And if Malice had... then what about Ledah!_

---

"Something to tell me...?" Ein repeated, curious. "Sure. What is it?"

"I should've told you this... long ago," Ledah whispered, his carmine eyes searching Ein's face. "But I ran out of time... and since then... I've been losing the courage..."

Confused, Ein listened carefully, feeling a cord of trepidation beginning to thread through his veins. Whatever Ledah had to say, it was probably extremely important, if he was taking this long with it...

"But I can't deny it any longer... and it'll kill me if I just keep waiting for some miracle to happen, for you to magically understand..."

"Ledah...?"

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry for my weakness, for these thoughts that have rested within me for longer than I believed possible..."

"Ledah... Ledah, what is it? You're starting to scare me, Ledah... what?"

The seraph's eyelids were drifting lower and lower as he spoke, his voice starting to haze. "But I can't hold this silence anymore... so Ein... please just listen... because I..."

Ein waited with bated breath, his heartbeat starting to quicken.

"I... I think I..."

---

_"Ledah..." Ein cried helplessly, dashing to the edge of the insignia. He would've stepped onto it, but Cierra was suddenly there, holding him back with a fierce shake of the head. He knew what she feared--that if he set foot there, he too would lose his soul--but he didn't care anymore, not when Malice's sad corpse spelled out a reality that he wouldn't be able to fight..._

_"Ein..." Ledah said softly, supporting himself with his left hand as his right clutched desperately at his chest. His usually pale face was now ashen, his eyes hooded and sad as they looked up through his bangs into Ein's, even now beginning to dull, to glaze. "Thank you... for... trusting me... I... I owe you... so much... Please... save Riviera... Show Hector... the true will of the gods..." Closing his eyes, he smiled painfully. "H...heh... Why is it... that I... don't want... to leave you...?" Looking back up at his friend, Ledah's gaze suddenly became soulful, pained in ways that spoke to the wingless angel's heart. "Ein... just maybe... about you, I..." Whatever he was about to say was lost in a spasm of coughing, blood now flecking the ground around him and leaving tiny stains on his lips. "Fare...well..."_

_His eyes closed; he slumped sideways, his body sprawling across the cold crystal floor, the cross hanging from his rosary hitting its surface with one cold, clear, final jingle._

_Something broke within Ein, shattering into a thousand irretrievable pieces, as his eyes filled with tears and he struggled against Cierra's hold with renewed vigor. "Ledah! No... NO! **Ledaaaaaah!"**_

---

"I... _I think I love you..."_

Ein drew in a swift gasp, blood draining from his face. He tried to think of something to say--_anything--_but his mind was just drawing an absolute blank. He had no idea how to reply to something like that, something so grave and personal, something so completely unexpected.

Luckily for him, it seemed that those last words had cost an effort that Ledah didn't have to expend--he was soundly asleep once again, his expression peaceful and untroubled.

But as for Ein...

What was he supposed to _say? _What was he supposed to _do? _He had no idea...

He had to have _someone _he could talk to about all this...!

---

Closing her book with a snap, Rose looked sympathetically at Ein out of deep emerald eyes. "Really? So... Ein, be honest with me. How do _you _feel about _him?"_

"I... I just don't know anymore," Ein cried, hanging his head. "I... I just feel so confused! This changes _everything! _We were always so close, and yet... it just never really occurred to me that he might... might think of me _that _way... oh, _gods, _Rose, I don't know what the hell I'm going to say to him the next time I'm up there with him! How am I supposed to act normally, when he just went and dropped _that _in my lap?"

"That was a really brave thing Ledah did," Rose scolded. "If it'd been the other way around, do you think you could've said as much, even after two long years? It's so hard to truly bare yourself to even the person you trust the most. What if that trust is betrayed? He must've been so scared, trying to say something like that for so long. And it's hard, trying to respond to a completely selfless love like his. But, Ein... I think you _know _how you feel about Ledah. I think you've known for a long time too, but been unwilling to admit it even to yourself. And _I _know that you have to tell him the truth, and _fast. _You've got some time because he's still not over that fever and he was probably half-delirious when he gave you the gift of those three little words, but if you don't say something _soon, _Ledah will take it as a rejection. And trust me--that will absolutely _devastate _him, not to mention the fact that it'll kill _everything _that's ever happened between you two. He may blame himself--in fact, he most likely will--but he'll still feel betrayed and ruined, and I don't even want to _think _about what he might try then.

"I've been watching you two all this time, as a friend to you both. I've seen the way you talk to him, look at him, touch him. And there's more than just friendship going on there. Ask yourself frankly... how would you feel if Ledah would allow you more than just that tentative hand on his shoulder?"

Ein's face flushed immediately, which seemed to be answer enough for Rose.

"Tell him the truth, Ein. Tell him, or lose him forever. It's that simple. And with the risk Ledah took in confessing his feelings to you tonight, that's a very small thing to ask."

Silence. Ein stared pointedly at the floor, face redder than Helfire. That was one hell of an ultimatum, after all... how could she expect him to...?

But she was also right. It frightened him, but she was right.

The faint, crackling sound of a voice made both of them look up.

"Ei... c... ...ou hea... m...? T...s is... ...ala... Cierra... get... ...alk to Cierra...!"

It was coming from the glass globe that Cierra had placed on the corner desk mere days ago...

---

NEXT TIME: Rescued! And just in time, too... with Christmas a week away, Elendia turns out for a little double celebration in the town hall. Meanwhile, Ein tries to figure out his feelings, but a little mistletoe just might force his hand a little early...


	6. His Answer

A Very Riviera Christmas

DISCLAIMER: I think you know by now that I don't own it. Otherwise, Ein would've macked Ledah or at LEAST one of the girls somewhere in the storyline. But this fanfic is mine, so I'll write whatever I want in it. So there.

Warning: If you don't like reading about two guys kissing, you might wanna give parts of this one a miss. Just letting you know :3

"This is...!" Ein looked back and forth from the glass orb and Rose, a shocked expression on his face as he did so.

"OEI! CIERRA!" Rose yelled. "ONE OF YOUR MAGIC TOYS IS DOING SOMETHING WEIRD!"

"Doing what?" the Scarlet Witch asked, poking her head into the room curiously.

Rose and Ein both pointed to the still-sparking orb. With a happy little cry, Cierra ran over to it, murmuring something as she put her hands on its surface.

Instantly, the glass ball flashed, the vague image of a woman in violet appearing inside. "Soala? We're right here."

Soala's voice issued clearly through the room, causing prickles to raise along Ein's arms. "Cierra? Everyone's okay over there? Thank the gods... I've been trying to get in contact with you for two days now, and this is the first time _anyone's _responded. How have you all been doing?"

"We're all fine," the red-haired witch assured her friend. "We've still got a few days' worth of food left, and no one was hurt in the storm." She giggled. "Ledah got a little sick, but he'll probably be over it in about a day or so."

"Really?" Ein piped up, sighing. "The way things were going, I wasn't sure..."

"He might even be well enough to get up tomorrow," Cierra told him. "I just went to check on him, and his body temperature's fallen a little bit. You mark my words, that fever'll be gone by tomorrow morning. If he wakes up sometime before then, I doubt he'll even be delirious!"

"That's good to know," Rose said, giving Ein a significant look. The wingless angel cringed. Good for Ledah, maybe, but definitely _not _good for _him. Now _what was he going to do?

"Well, Claude, Ritz, and I have been getting the others out--Chappi was perfectly fine, and so were the Pixias... Gill and Molan keep pestering us to get you out so they can play with Lina again. Meute should be alright; she's taken shelter beneath the layer of ice in her spring every year anyway. Rebecca, Reiche, and Mursya were okay too; they dug themselves a hollow in the snow and stayed beside the storage tree near the center of town until we got to them. Ladie and the Elder were fine as well, although she nearly speared me with that pigsticker of hers for not coming sooner. You're the last ones we need to get out, and we'll probably be there sometime tomorrow. We dug out the town hall, too, so once you're safe, we'll be arranging a little something to celebrate. None of the village supplies were affected adversely, thank goodness, so we'll have enough both for this and for Christmas and the gods' feasts."

"I almost forgot that Christmas was coming up with all this blizzard stuff," Rose admitted with a brief giggle. "It'll be good to have some fun, for once."

"We'll see you soon, then," Cierra told Soala, and removed her hands from the globe. "Isn't that wonderful? We'll be able to get out of here at last!"

---

Sensing the play of light against his closed eyes, Ledah reluctantly groaned, shielded his face with one hand, and opened them.

The snow's line had receded enough that half the window was uncovered, just enough to light the upstairs room. Ein was sprawled on the floor with a chair cushion beneath his head, still mostly clothed; Ledah fought the urge to smile slightly at his friend's deep loyalty. Gingerly, the black-winged seraph sat up in bed, letting the heavy sheets slide to his waist.

_Ugh... why can't I remember anything that happened last night...? My head still hurts... probably from the fever... and I know I must've been awake, at least a little bit... so why can't I picture what happened? I have a really bad feeling about this..._

"Nnnmmmph... Ledah...?" He turned; it seemed as though Ein was starting to wake up, as well. "You're already up...?" Shaking his head, the wingless angel stood awkwardly. "Are you feeling better now?"

"Yes... at least a little." Ledah looked Ein up and down, trying not to be too conspicuous. Was it just his imagination, or had something in his friend's countenance changed? "Is... something the matter?"

Ein's face instantly flushed, and he shook his head. "Ah...? No... no! N-nothing's wrong! What gave you that idea?"

Ledah simply gave him a sidelong look. Sometimes the younger angel needed a reminder that his old friend could always see right through him. "If I said anything strange last night... you'll have to forgive me; I'm afraid I can't even remember what I might have done... blame it on the fever... I... know I've been acting oddly recently..."

"Well... no... yes, I do kinda have a question about that. There... well, there've been a lot of times you've woken up when it seemed like you were having some nightmare about Hector, and me... I was sort of wondering... did something happen back then?"

Ledah gave him a mildly puzzled look. "He certainly did enjoy telling Malice and myself what he was going to do to you for siding with Ursula very often... but no, I don't believe anything went on _quite _in that sense."

"Oh... well, I guess that's a good thing." That slightly off-key feeling about Ein didn't change, however. Something was still wrong. However, he'd probably say something about it in the near future, so Ledah didn't bother asking. "Hey, do you mind if I...?" Ein held up a hand tentatively.

"Of course not." _Since when does Ein need my permission to check my temperature...? _Ledah wondered, closing his eyes as Ein slipped the upraised hand under his bangs to rest on his forehead. _Something happened last night, I know it... _"Well?"

Ein was smiling as he removed his hand. "You're almost back to normal--just a little warmer than I am! That sure is a relief."

Ledah tried to smile back, but it faded quickly from his face. _What did I _do...? _What could I have done, to make him so distant, so awkward? Ein... just tell me that I said nothing to hurt you... I wouldn't be able to bear it, if I had..._

"Hey... are you sure you're okay?" Ein asked, frowning. "Ledah... is there something you're not telling me? Maybe you should lie down again..."

"No... I..." The seraph shook his head, a now-distinct look of misery in his eyes. "Please... you must disregard whatever happened last night... I'm not _myself _when I'm in that condition... I... I just... if I did something foolish, something that... that insulted you in any way... I..."

Ein shook his head and tentatively sat beside his old friend. "Ledah... you didn't do anything of the sort, you hear? The things you said last night... well, they were more like really deep, revealing secrets, and I'm still kinda surprised. You just need to give me a little time to get over it... that's all."

"Secrets..." Ledah was torn; half of him wanted to collapse back onto the bed in sheer relief, while the other half was made even more neurotic with worry. What _kind _of secrets?

"For one thing, you told me how it felt... when you became a Grim Angel..." Ein said softly. In his eyes, there was a deep sadness for his friend, an ache. "You'd never said _anything _to me about how painful it was for you before... gods, Ledah... I could've done something for you...!"

The older angel shook his head, wearing a self-mocking smile. "There wasn't anything anyone could've done to ease pain like that. I had Lorelei, and that was the only thing that kept me going. Because Lorelei is my heart, just as Einherjar is your wings... holding my Diviner was the only thing that could've salved that wound. You would've tried, and had I been in any state to appreciate it, I would've been grateful, but that wouldn't have helped at all."

"But... but you did so _much _for me, when I underwent the trial," Ein protested, spreading his hands wide. "I... I just wish there was _something _I could've done...!"

"I was able to help you because I _knew _what would help," Ledah said softly. "And just knowing that you feel this way is enough... believe me when I say that, Ein."

"I believe you," Ein said softly, his deep blue eyes looking almost gray for an instant in the morning's light, his expression suddenly sober. "Because, Ledah..."

Something in the seraph's chest fluttered. "...Yes...?"

Ein's cheeks flushed, and he ran his hand through his hair. "Ah... nah, don't worry about it. It's nothing important. Anyway, if you're feeling better, you should get dressed and come downstairs. We just heard from Soala and Claude through this ball of glass that Cierra put a spell on... they'll be coming for us soon. And besides, you need breakfast. You haven't been eating much since you got sick."

"Alright."

At that, Ein stood, heading down the stairs with one fleeting smile back at his friend.

As soon as the younger angel was gone, Ledah stood up and began to pace the length of the room. _What was it? What did I say that was bothering him so much? That alone can't have been it--he wouldn't be acting so, so distant, so awkward. What could I have _said _to make him start to act so shy...?_

_He doesn't know how I feel. That, I'm sure of. He's had thousands of chances to realize over the years we've been together, and he hasn't yet. Even now, I've been doing my best to act normal around him, even though it's so hard... but that's the _only _thing I can think of that would make him behave so strangely. If he knew... then he'd give me his answer... whatever that answer may be. No, he can't know. Can he...?_

Ledah stopped pacing next to the bed. _Ein told me himself that the things I said caught him off-guard, and he was still unsure of how to react. I know that my own bad reaction to the Grim Angel transformation surprised him badly, by the things he said to me... but... this...? It can't... but... it makes sense, but it _can't... _even under such conditions, even completely delirious... I wouldn't...!_

Finally giving in to reality, Ledah collapsed back onto the bed, covering his mouth with both hands to stifle his soft cry of despair.

_I told him...!_

---

At the foot of the stairs, Ein sighed and sat down, disgusted with himself.

He hadn't even been able to get one word out, when always before he'd never had any trouble telling Ledah _anything. _It didn't make any sense, and it was driving him absolutely _nuts. _Why couldn't he just say it and get it over with?

'I like you'--three simple little words. But faced with Ledah, they became anything _but _simple. Ein was beginning to understand how it had been years before the seraph had managed to get them out.

What made it so impossible to just say how he felt and get it over with? It didn't make any sense at all! He knew that Ledah cared, no matter how the other angel tried to hide it behind a façade of normalcy. So why was it so hard...?

It was probably just what Rose had suggested to him, during their little talk last night. _"How would you feel if Ledah would allow you more than just that tentative hand on his shoulder?" _Ein hadn't been able to help thinking of all the things that might entail--that the rare embraces he was able to share with his longtime friend would become more common, that they could even end up _kissing... _or doing more intimate things together. Ein had never been kissed before, so he could only speculate, blushing slowly whenever he did, how that would feel--but he knew from experience that having Ledah's warm body in his arms, pressed close to his own, made things feel _right _in a way that holding anyone else did not.

_I don't know how in the world this snuck up on me without my noticing it until now. But I _do _like him... I really do like him... I just need to figure out how I'm going to tell him..._

_And if what Rose said is true, I really do have to tell him..._

_Soon..._

Shaking his head, Ein headed into the main room of the house and slumped into a chair at the table. He would have to think of something without letting his feelings on to everyone in the house--having _Rose _in on the situation was bad enough, but Serene, Fia, and Lina? That would be an absolute _nightmare..._

"Here you go," Cierra announced happily, sliding a plate in front of him. "Toast, and over-easy eggs. Since Claude and Soala are coming, we can afford to use a little more food than normal."

He smiled at her as he raised his wooden fork. "Thanks, Cierra."

"You know, Ein..." the red-haired witch said slowly, rearranging dishes, "whatever it is you're worried about... it'll all be alright in the end. You'll see."

The wingless angel stared at her curiously. "You... can tell...?"

"It is pretty obvious," Cierra admitted. She took a few steps towards him and laid a hand on his head, ruffling his hair. "You've been moody and anxious since last night. I may not know the situation, so I can't really give you advice, but... if you ever want or need to talk about things, I'll be here. That's what friends are for."

Ein made a face. "I just may take you up on that."

Cierra giggled. "I hope you do. I'd love to help in any way I can."

Footsteps made the two of them look up; Ledah was heading down the stairs, his knuckles white though his grip on the handrail seemed light. Something about him had changed from that morning, too--maybe it was just Ein's imagination, but he seemed a little paler than usual, a little more lost in thought, his steps not quite as sure as they should've been.

Sitting up, he turned to face his old friend. "Hey, are you okay? You don't look so good... maybe you should go lie back down. Don't push yourself, or you'll just get sick again, and I don't think you really want to be bedridden over Christmas."

"I'm fine," Ledah said softly, but that didn't shake the shadowed pall that had settled over his entire body.

"I mean it, Ledah--your health is important to all of us, and if you need to take things a little more slowly, then--"

"That isn't it," the blonde seraph managed, speaking slowly, his voice going dead-breeze again. "Ein, I just... I just need a little time, is all... some time to myself." And with that, he headed off, looking as though he didn't care exactly where he was going.

Ein shook his head. "Something's wrong, I can _tell. _Why won't he say anything...? Can't he tell how much I've worried about him these days...?"

"You know, Ein..." Cierra said slowly, sounding as though she were choosing her words carefully, "sometimes... sometimes fear can get in our way, and prevent us from seeing things that seem obvious to everyone else. Ledah's got his own worries right now, and they're important enough to him that he can't concentrate on anything else. Give him some space for a while, and _then _approach him about the things you want to say. Right now, he won't be able to listen even if he wants to."

"I know... but... I just don't want him to suffer alone for any longer..."

"He's lucky to have a friend like you," the redhead commented, smiling. "Just trust him for now, okay? If Ledah says he needs room at a time like this, give him room. You have to think about _his _needs, too. Especially when he isn't doing so well."

"I hope you're right," Ein told her, shaking his head.

Cierra just smiled and kept clearing places for the others.

---

It was about midday when Claude and Soala showed up at last. There'd been odd sounds around the house for a few hours on end, but when there were actual scrapings against the door, then a knock, it brought everyone (even Ledah) over just in time for the violet-haired witch and the dryad to come inside.

It seemed that the two of them had used special spells to displace a great deal of the snow over Elendia in paths that followed the dirt roads and allowed access between the outside world and every building. Ein and the others really were their last stop; some of the others (including Pixia children Gill and Molan) were also hanging around to check on their friends' condition.

Lina immediately rushed off with the other kids to play in the snow; Serene left to talk to her friends Rebecca and Mursya shortly after. Fia headed out to get some more supplies, and Rose retreated upstairs to straighten up what had been Ledah's room and get more work done on her book. Ledah himself walked discreetly out of the house slightly later on, which left Ein and Cierra alone in the living room.

"So, hey, Cierra..." the wingless angel began.

"Yes?"

"Have you ever... really liked somebody, but had trouble actually saying it to them, even if you had the suspicion that they might like you, too?" he burst out, cheeks already beginning to flame.

"My... is that what you've been so concerned about, then?" the witch asked, sitting down beside him. "I can't say I've been in _exactly _the same situation as you, but there was once someone I cared very much about. No matter how hard I tried, I was never quite able to tell him my feelings... by the time I finally had the courage, I realized before I approached him that he was already in love with someone else, and that I would only cause him pain by confessing how _I _felt. If I'd spoken up earlier, I might have been able to begin a relationship with him, but I wasn't able to get up the nerve until it was already too late." She shrugged, smiling ruefully. "That's the way of life. But, I've come to realize that maybe he and I would never have been _truly _happy together, anyway. And because I do care about him, and know he'll be better off with the one he really loves, all I can do is hope that things work out between them."

"Wow..." Ein grimaced. "That's got to be rough."

Cierra smiled at him. "I'd say that when you grow up, you'll understand it better, but... it seems you're getting there on your own, if you love someone that much at your age."

"I know that if I don't say something soon, I'll end up really hurting that person," Ein said softly. "But I don't know _what _I'm going to say or how to say it..."

"When the time comes, so will the words you're looking for," Cierra supplied helpfully. "A simple 'I love you' can't exactly hurt, either."

Ein offered her a lopsided smile. "Thanks. I know... but it's just so _hard... _and I don't even understand _why..."_

Cierra considered him for a moment, then shook her head and spoke. "Ledah is a very lucky man," she said with a gentler smile than any Ein had seen her give. "He needs someone like you to love him... he's blessed to have you in his life."

Ein laughed embarrassedly, ducking his head and running his hand across the back of it. "Was it really that obvious?"

Cierra just kept smiling. "Remember, Rose and I are always here if you need it... for moral support, I guess you'd say. We're your friends, and we really do want you and Ledah to be happy together. After all your hard work to save Riviera--and to save _Ledah, _after that--you need a life of peace, and for things to work out for once."

"Thanks, Cierra... and I really mean that. If I need advice... I know I can ask you."

The red-haired witch giggled. "Just leave it to big sis!"

---

Night had fallen, and Ein and Rose were heading down to the town hall for the promised getting-out party.

Mylene and Soala, in charge of the decorations, had outdone themselves--delicate paper balls, lit from within by soft, warm etherlight, were strung around the long wooden building on what seemed to be a single thread, casting a beautifully welcoming air about the area.

"You sure you want to come up here with us?" Ein teased, elbowing Rose in the side. "You've been writing in your every spare moment lately."

Lashing her tail, Rose lightly smacked Ein on the head. "Hey! I can afford to take a break--I'm almost done. Even though I'm trying to finish by Christmas, when I've only got a few chapters to go, I can _take _a well-deserved rest. Besides, they'll have better food. Even though Fia just got us some more stuff, most of what's in the house has been there for at least a week. Bleh."

"You sure are finicky," Ein remarked. "So why are you so desperate to get done by Christmas anyway, Rose?"

"Because then I can give it to all of you," she replied impishly, laying the back of a finger against Ein's lips. "But you didn't hear that from me, so I will _kill _you if you tell any of the others. It's supposed to be a _surprise, _and it won't be if you ruin it for them."

"Don't worry," Ein said easily as the two of them walked in.

"Hey, lookit." Rose pointed upwards; Ein craned his head back to see a sprig of mistletoe pinned to the top of the doorframe. "These people think of everything, I tell you."

"Does that mean I have to kiss you now?" Ein asked, giving his friend a sidelong look.

"Oh, don't worry, I'll save you the _humiliation _of having to mack your _familiar," _Rose told him, rolling her eyes. Laying a hand on his shoulder, she leaned over... and gave him a quick lick on the cheek.

Ein fidgeted. "Gahh... Rose! Since you're a _person _now, why do you still have such a scratchy tongue? That _tickles!"_

"Because I'm a _cat Sprite," _she informed him patiently. "I'm going to go get food--wanna come?"

"Nah... I think I'll wait for the others, see if I can get a minute to talk to Ledah. He wasn't looking so good the last time I saw him today."

"Suit yourself. I'll be back in five or ten, okay?" With that, she walked off.

Ein leaned back against the doorframe and looked around with a smile on his face.

All of Elendia had turned out for the little gathering. Mylene and Kyle, down by the tables, were attempting to keep their children, Molan and Gill, under control; Ladie the valkyrie and Ritz the gnome were engaged in small talk over cider. Mursya the werecat, next to Rose, was stuffing her face with fish; Rebecca the harpuia and Reiche the sylph were talking with a few of the resident fairies in a corner. Chappi the hobbit blacksmith was enthusiastically explaining his recent project to Fia's grandfather, Graham, and Claude and Soala were tending an etherlight fountain that formed the centerpiece. Each of them seemed to be having a grand old time.

"Hey, Ein! Sorry we're late!"

It was Lina, with Fia right beside her.

"Hey. Glad to see you two here--the more the merrier, right?"

Lina dashed through the door and tackle-glomped the wingless angel. "Promise me you're gonna dance with me later, Ein! Please? Pleeease?"

"You shouldn't pester him," Fia protested helplessly.

"It's okay," Ein demurred. "Sure, Lina. I'll dance with you sometime tonight, if I have the time. Although, Gill will probably take most of your time." The little archer giggled; Ein joined in with a laugh of his own.

"Hey, Fia! Lookie lookie, there's mistletoe!" Lina shouted suddenly, pointing above the three of them. "Guess we get to kiss Ein now!"

"Ah... sorry, guess I should've moved," Ein said helplessly as he bent to let Lina plant a peck on the same cheek Rose had used before running off.

"Um..." Fia was suddenly very red. "Ein, do I really have to...?"

"We can get out of it like this," Ein explained, gently lifting Fia's right hand and softly pressing his lips to it instead.

"Thank you," the fencer said in a very small voice as the two of them steered away from the innocent-looking green sprig. "Ein... don't you think you're a little too indulgent of Lina sometimes?"

"I don't know," the wingless angel replied, shrugging. "You only get to be a child once, so you should enjoy it while you can... at least, that's my opinion. I've seen what it does to people when they have to grow up too quickly... in fact, I think that's part of the reason Malice turned out the way she did. I may have been really young, but I still remember what she was like before her mother died. She may've been aggressive and pushy, but she was also a lot of fun to talk to sometimes. But on that day, she changed--she became harder, angrier, less approachable. It's no excuse for the things she did, but she didn't have a very good life."

"That's so sad..." Fia said softly, looking at the ground.

"Yeah. I don't want Lina to be anything like that. I've seen enough pain that just having a silly little girl as a friend is a welcome relief."

Fia smiled. "You're such a kind person, Ein..."

"Ah... nah," the wingless angel said evasively, looking in another direction and blushing with the praise. "Shouldn't you go check in with your grandfather now?"

"Oh... yes! Yes, I probably should. I'll see you later on, then," the fencer told him, gathering up her petticoats and heading across the room to where Graham and Chappi were.

Smiling again, Ein returned to his post by the door.

Within only a few minutes, he was interrupted in his wait yet again when Serene and Cierra showed up. Directing them to the food (after being kissed on the forehead by Cierra and exchanging casual pecks on each cheek with Serene--he was under the mistletoe again), he resettled.

He was beginning to get worried when, at long last, Ledah trailed up the path to the town hall.

"Ah! Hey--I've been waiting for you to get here!" Bouncing up, Ein offered his old friend a bright smile. "Are you still feeling alright? You aren't getting too cold out here?"

The blonde angel smiled back softly and shook his head. "No. Once again, you needn't worry for my sake. Ein... I--"

"It's okay, you don't need to say anything," Ein told him, putting his hands on Ledah's shoulders and staring up a few inches into his friend's crimson eyes. "Listen... I think we need to talk sometime soon, maybe after the party's over. Do you think we could do that, tonight?"

"I don't see why--" Ledah began slowly, searching Ein's face in an attempt to find out why the wingless angel seemed so earnest.

"Hey boys," came Rose's bright and perky voice, interrupting the seraph in the middle of his sentence. Turning, they gave her mixed tolerant and exasperated looks.

"What do you want?" Ein asked.

"Don't you know?" Rose returned, that infuriatingly complacent expression still on her face.

"No..." Ein said in a tone that clearly stated "my-patience-is-wearing-thin". "You're gonna have to tell us if there's something you need. I was kinda in the middle of a conversation."

"This isn't about me, it's about you," Rose said in a tone that just as clearly stated "you-are-a-moron". "Don't you get it yet?"

_"What?"_

In response, Rose smiled brightly and pointed up.

Ein and Ledah followed the direction of her finger in unison, and each caught sight of that blessed and cursed green plant.

"Wha-- wha-- wha--!" Ein sputtered, turning to Rose with his entire face flaming red.

Ledah, though silent, gave the former familiar a look just as desperate as his friend's, blushing just as badly.

_Trapped, _Ein realized. _Trapped like a rat...! I can't act like this is no big deal because that's going to hurt Ledah, and I can't act like it _is _a big deal because then I'll just mess it up and everything I've planned to say will all go to waste...! Damnit Rose, why'd you have to butt in...?_

"We're waiting," Rose told them cheerfully.

"But--but--but I can't just--" Ein tried desperately, holding out his hands in a wordless plea.

Ledah's blush faded somewhat, and as he looked to Ein, his crimson eyes darkened, his expression slowly becoming sober and sad.

"I'll..." he said softly, stepping over to his friend. Gently, he brushed Ein's bangs off his forehead.

As the wingless angel stood silently and waited, eyes closed, he felt the soft brush of Ledah's lips against his skin, and then sensed the blonde seraph remove the restraining hand.

Opening his eyes, Ein grimaced. "Ledah, I--"

Ledah just gave him one long, pained look, then to Ein's utter shock, bolted back out the door, wings slanted forward, running in wide desperate strides.

Turning to Ein, Rose glared at him. "Way to go, you moron!" she snapped. _"Now _look what you've done! After this, there won't be any more second chances--unless you're going to fix things _now, _it's completely hopeless--and it's completely your fault, you jerk!"

_"My _fault?" Ein demanded, but stopped as he caught sight of Ledah's still-retreating form out of the corner of his eye. "Oh... dammit... Ledah, _wait!"_

And he gave chase, dashing along the fine crust of snow that still lay over the path.

Fia, who had wandered over after hearing Rose's angry words, looked worriedly after him. "Is everything alright...? Ein..."

"He just possibly ruined a great relationship," Rose fumed. "That idiot. I give him the chance of a lifetime, and what does he do with it? Tosses it straight out the window! The boy is _hopeless!"_

"Ein..." Fia murmured, slowly walking down the angels' path.

---

Breath rasping, heart pounding, Ein ran with all the speed he could muster.

Ledah'd had a good head start, but he'd stopped in the middle of the road, his back to his friend, head bowed and wings curled dispiritedly. And Ein was almost there.

"Ledah," he yelled between gasps for air. _"Ledah!"_

No response. Dashing up to his friend, Ein knew there was no time for thinking--he'd just have to do what _felt _right to him. And so he didn't stop to speak, but simply threw his arms around Ledah's body, pressing his cheek against the nape of the other angel's neck.

"Ledah... I'm so sorry, Ledah..." he said softly, feeling a painful knot beginning to form in his throat. "I should've said something, _anything, _before now... I should've been smarter, should've _realized... _I had all this time with you, when I could've figured out the things that've been going through my own head...

"But you really caught me off-guard... telling me the way you did... I didn't know what to say or do, didn't know what I was supposed to _feel. _Rose talked some sense into me, thank all the gods. And since then... I've still been trying to spit it out, over and over, all day...

"I'm a coward, Ledah, and it doesn't help that I can be so stupid either. I've really hurt you, by not saying things when I should. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.

"Please... please tell me that I haven't ruined everything forever... Please, gods... because this hurts so _much... _the things I might have done to you... because, oh, Ledah...

"Because _I love you, Ledah, I love you... _I've loved you all this time, and never known it...

"So please... please don't run away from me anymore..."

There was a long silence, and then:

"Ein..." Ledah said slowly, softly, his voice twisted by tears. "I've never run from _you... _only from my own fear..."

Twisting in Ein's desperate embrace, he threw his arms around the younger angel in turn.

"I could never run from you, Ein... _I love you..."_

It was so quick, Ein barely understood what had happened. In what seemed like the length of an eyeblink, he and Ledah were clinging so closely to each other that it seemed neither would ever let go, their lips locked together, Ledah's wings forming a protective curtain around their bodies.

For the first time in his life, Ein glimpsed a flicker of true bliss.

---

NEXT TIME: So, now that our two beloved idiots have figured it out, we're left with one more all-important question... what about Fia? It's not very good for your mental health to see your crush confess his love to someone else, after all... Plus, the countdown to that special moment begins... :3


	7. Both Sides of the Glass

A Very Riviera Christmas

DISCLAIMER: Obviously, I don't own Riviera; if I did, I'd get the drama CDs translated or at least get translated scripts. The only ones I know of that HAVE been English-ized are "Malice: Leaving Her Past" and "Private School Riviera"... which we got via Angelica the charm witch. Bah. But obviously, I don't own... so just don't sue me...

Author's Note: Woo, fun. _Finally, _their first kiss. I've been waiting to write that since I began this little fanfic of mine...

We've only got about three chapters or so to go, including this one. This is probably the fastest I've ever written any fanfic besides "Far Gone". I guess it helps when your obsession is fresh... and the rate I'm going, I'll have each of the girls' endings before my enthusiasm even starts to fade. (I still can't quite believe the fact that I got the Rose ending on my first try... that's supposed to be really hard.) I'm working on the Fia one right now, in case anyone's curious--at this moment, I'm about to go into Chapter 5.

On that note--no, I don't really have anything against Fia. I think she's a bit of a goody-two-shoes, to be completely honest, but let's face it, she powns, and she's your only healer. She's a sweetheart, and her crush on Ein is as obvious as the fact that I'm a yaoi fiend. (She's even a vegetarian, if you haven't noticed--she doesn't have any skills for Meat-type foods besides "throw" and "can't eat", even though no one else has a problem with them.) I like her, I really do, just like I like all of the girls--Serene kicks ass, Cierra's a cutie, Rose is awesome, and Lina is just an entertainment (no, Malice is not on this list... I just feel sorry for her because of her screwed-up background...)--I just like Ledah more. :3 But it's in consideration for her feelings (and because Megaolix has been so nice, for someone who dislikes yaoi) that this chapter even exists. Otherwise, I'd just be skipping straight to Chapter 8, with a little addition to show the passage of time.

I think I ought to warn people: by the time I post Chapter 8, this fanfic's rating will be raised to M. That chapter's content is far too graphic to be contained in a T-rated fic... I think you know in what way. O.o;; I scare myself sometimes, I really do. But that specific scene is _extremely _important to the development of Ein and Ledah's relationship, which is why it's being included at all--_not _just as fodder for my fellow yaoi fangirls. Besides, I've taken care to make the moment a very sweet and tender one, refraining from including anything too kinky. :) I like pairings for relationship value, not because the characters just happen to be hot together. And the scene will definitely _not _be as graphic as the ones that are to come in my temporarily postponed FF:U fanfic, "Kokoro no Hanashi". I'm not saying this to scare you off... I just want you to be forewarned is all...

Well, enough of that! As long as you're sticking around in the Riviera section, I hope you check out my little vignette collection, "Diary". The chapters are super-short, but they're designed more as snapshots than epics, and I've worked hard on my prose in them. Also, I'm toying with the idea of writing a Ledah deathfic (we have one for Malice, but Ledah gets no attention? You _know _I have to do something about that...), which (if written) will be released under the title "Adieu". (Which I actually put up before I finished this chapter... I am so lazy :P)

In case anyone's interested, the things Ein said in the last chapter about Malice's past -are- true. As previously stated, my online friend Angelica (charm witch to all of you) owns the Riviera drama CDs, and she was able to get two tracks translated, one of which happens to describe a _lot _of the reasons that Malice is so screwed-up. As I can't give you a link to the LiveJournal forum where the scripts are posted (stupid FF-Net...) I'll sum things up as best as I can. Basically, Malice lost both her parents when she was little--her father, Aleid, was killed by demons at Heaven's Gate under _extremely _suspicious circumstances, and her mother, Rizuna, was badly wounded by said demons and died after a few years of sickly and heartbroken half-life. There were rumors that her father had actually raised the demons himself and was leading a rebellion against Asgard, and it's also said that their family, which was once nobility, has "mixed wings" (which I take to mean mixed blood of some sort...). Basically, after Aleid's death, the Ructor family lost all its wealth and prestige, and Malice was raised from then on in poverty. She was a really cute, sweet little midget too... but after her mother died, she was never quite the same. Of course, then she got handed over to Hector, who didn't even treat her like a person. It's kind of understandable that she's so spiteful and cold, even though that's still no excuse for the things she's done. Malice has _problems... _(sigh)

As another note, Rose is -NOT- the only Riviera character with a last name. :) As previously mentioned, Malice's last name is Ructor, and Ledah's last name is Rozwelli. No, I do not know anyone else's, and I only know Ledah's last name because it's part of his angelic code (Grim Angel's license, which includes your registration number, power class, and name), of which Angelica informed me. :3

And Thalia, before you ask, I did _not _go writing "Ein Rozwelli" all over everything. You and your little "Alexis Claudin" fits are ALL yours, believe me. XP Stupid fangirl. (pot calling kettle black)

Okies, on with story now--I think I've rambled enough. :3

---

Still half-bewildered, the two angels came up for air, looking breathlessly into each other's eyes. Ein's arms were still cinched tightly around Ledah's waist; they were standing close enough together that he could feel the blonde's ribcage shift as he breathed. Still luxuriating in the feel of being wrapped in both his love's arms and wings, he was about to rest his head on Ledah's shoulder when he saw the faint traces of tears on the seraph's cheeks.

"Ledah...?" he began hesitantly, uncertainly, raising his right hand to brush the shining teartracks away. "Are you alright...?"

"I am now..." With a small sigh, Ledah slumped against Ein, now resting cheek-to-cheek with the wingless angel. "Because you're with me..."

"But, but..." Ein fidgeted in Ledah's embrace. "You were _crying... _I made you _cry... _I... I'm really sorry, I... we both know how stupid I can be."

"Don't put yourself down," the blonde insisted softly, curling a little closer. "If you hadn't come after me... I might have... Ein, I think I may owe you my life again."

"Don't talk like that."

"It's true. Please... Ein... I never told you, but it was my desire to see you again that held me back from the gates of Valhalla long enough for Ursula to retrieve my soul. I have no reason to live, other than to remain by your side." Ledah pulled back to arm's length from Ein, pure pain and anxiety rising to the surface of his eyes' carmine depths. "You must never let me go, and never forget... because, if you do... I don't know if I'll be able to go on..."

"Don't worry about things like that, Ledah," Ein whispered. _"You _can't ever forget just how much I love you..."

Each at a loss for words, they stared desperately into each other's eyes as if by doing so, they could see into each other's hearts. Then Ledah leaned forward a bare inch, Ein rushed the rest of the way, and they were kissing again.

Feeling Ledah's lips shift against his own, Ein yielded up his mouth without thinking. Though Ledah's advance was gentle, it still came as a surprise; it took an effort not to draw back in shyness at that initial flick of tongue against lip, but Ein trusted the blonde enough not to retreat. His heart surged as their embrace deepened; he felt almost as if he were drowning, his consciousness slipping away from him in the warmth of Ledah's arms around him, sleep weaving through him in the sweet sharp taste of the other angel's lips. At that moment, Ein could have died with no regrets.

Finally, reluctantly, the two of them pulled back, both gasping for breath. Ledah's carmine eyes were hazed and tranquil, the yearning in his face temporarily quelled. Ein understood. There would be a time when the two of them could go further, explore each other even more deeply... but that time was not going to be now.

Tenderly resettling his hold on Ledah, Ein pulled the blonde close, heart pressed to beating heart as he softly whispered his promise: "I'll _never _let you go."

---

Fia ran blindly, not seeming to see where she was going, or to care very much about it either.

Following Ein out of concern, she'd seen the whole thing--the wingless angel's desperate confession, and Ledah's acceptance. Those three words given and exchanged, taken freely on both sides, like the triple strike of a gavel spelling out her fate. Ein kissing Ledah. Ledah kissing Ein back.

How had this _happened? _It had just appeared out of nowhere... how could the two of them just suddenly be in love? What had she missed? And if she had missed anything, _why _hadn't she seen it before? Why...?

All those moments, all those treasured smiles... hadn't they meant _anything _to Ein, anything at all? She'd loved him... how could he do this to her...? _How...?_

It was all wrong... all so wrong...!

Oh, Ein...

Vision starting to blur with tears, Fia tore down the makeshift corridor of snow, turning a corner and running smack into someone else.

"Fia...? What's wrong?"

It was Cierra, who'd put her hands consolingly on Fia's upper arms, holding her still while trying to give her some sense of comfort and stability.

That did it. Just one simple act of kindness, and the floodgates were open, with Fia helpless to stop them. Collapsing against the scarlet witch, the young fencer sobbed in earnest.

"What... what... what did I do _wrong? _Why doesn't he _love _me? He was supposed to love _me...! _Ein, why...? Why...? Why choose _him _over me...? Why are you doing this...? Ein... oh, gods, Ein...!"

Even with such a scattered explanation, Cierra seemed to understand. "Then, I suppose Ein gave Ledah his answer...?"

Fia stared up at her out of huge, pleading emerald eyes. "It wasn't supposed to _be _like this! Why can't he understand that _I'm _the one who loves him! _Me! _I do! He needs _me! _I hate this...!"

"Fia..." Cierra said slowly. "You must understand that even though you've cared so much about Ein all this time, which is worthy of a great deal of respect, Ledah has loved him for far longer. They were best friends before any of us met either of them. Fia, _please... _this was bound to happen sooner or later, with one of you. Ledah just got the courage to speak up before you began considering it."

Fia wasn't listening. "I hate this! I _hate _this! How could Ledah be so selfish! Ein belongs to _me! _That's just the way it was supposed to happen! I hate this! I hate this! I hate _him! _I--"

A sharp crack rang through the brisk winter air. Fia, her tirade successfully quelled, stared subduedly up at Cierra, her hand to the pink mark on her cheek where the witch had slapped her.

"Stop talking like that, Fia," Cierra said sternly. "It isn't like you."

"But--" the fencer attempted timorously.

"You love Ein, right?"

"Yes," Fia said in a tiny voice.

"You want him to be happy, don't you?"

"Yes, but--"

"Fia, one of the hardest things you have to learn while growing up is that sometimes, when you love someone, the best, kindest thing you can do for them is to let them go."

"I don't understand."

Cierra sighed. "I was in your position once, and all the thoughts that are running through your head now were going through mine then. Because... two years ago, while we were on our journey together, I started to notice that I was getting to have my own crush on Ein."

Although Fia didn't interject, her eyes widened slightly as she stood silently, listening.

"He only thought of me as a friend, but I persuaded myself that he knew how I felt, and that his smiles and compliments were little tributes that he gave to me and only me. I couldn't bring myself to say anything, but I was so happy, knowing that I liked Ein and that he apparently liked me back.

"Then, after we'd gone through much and thought that Riviera was saved, we were called to go to Yggdrasil when Ursula told Ein that Ledah was leading an attack on the Aquariums. Do you remember how suddenly inconsolable Ein became? He was lost in his own world all the time, no matter how hard we tried to cheer him up or to get him to tell us what was bothering him. Even after you _finally _convinced him to open up a little, he was still so worried and so depressed. _Nothing _I tried could make a difference, and I was confused. Didn't Ein care, the way I cared about him? Even though he was going up against his own friend, why couldn't I say or do anything to help? Shouldn't he have been able to take comfort in the fact that I was willing to be there?

"And _then _there was the way Ein behaved when Ledah was wounded so badly by Malice. You know the way he reacts when one of us is hurt--he's concerned, worried for our sake, hovering a little just to make sure we're okay. If one of us were to be hurt that badly, he'd feel horrible, of course. He might try to fight fate for a while, but he would be able to accept our condition or our death eventually, and move on with his life. I'm not saying that it would be as sudden as all that," Cierra clarified as Fia began to protest, holding up her hands to stop the younger girl from speaking. "It would take Ein a great deal of time. But it would happen. However... Fia, when Ein seriously began to think that Ledah was going to die in Yggdrasil, life came to a standstill for him. If you or I or Lina or Serene were killed along the road to save Riviera, he would probably be able to set aside grief for the time being, in order to keep fighting for the greater good. But you saw him then--he refused to pursue Malice, refused to take what might have been his only chance to prevent the Retribution, all for Ledah's sake.

"Why was that? I couldn't help wondering, once I thought about it for a while. And then I started to notice all the _other _little things that didn't quite match up.

"When Ein is happy with one of us, you know. He'll smile, kid around, be indulgent to whatever we want, and you _know _he's in a good mood because of the things he does when he's not talking to us. But when he's talking to Ledah and he's happy, it's different. Have you ever seen that, Fia? His whole face lights up, almost as though his heart is shining. And I don't think even _Ein _notices this, but he tends to use every excuse he can to actually touch Ledah during their conversations--whether it's just a hand on the shoulder, or playing with his hair, holding his hand, _whatever. _And even back then, Ledah would respond to that. Despite the very damaged condition of his heart, he would smile back, and you'd be able to tell that he was happy, or at _least _content, which was probably as close to 'happy' as he could get.

"They were able to fulfill something in each other then that I couldn't reach with Ein, no matter how hard I tried. I was upset at first, thinking that it wasn't right, that Ledah was butting in on something that Ein and I had built up together, but then I realized... those things weren't true. Ein saw me, and sees me, as a friend, a confidant, someone who'll be there on the hard days when things aren't working out. And the really awful, beautiful thing about it all...? That's when I began to realize that if I told Ein how I felt, he'd probably stay with me if I wanted him to, but he wouldn't be happy, not _really. _Not in the way that Ledah can make him happy.

"And because I _do _love Ein, and I want him to be as happy as he can, and live the fullest life possible, I decided that I wouldn't say anything. I would be disappointed and upset, and I'd cry for a while, but I'd be able to move on. And that's part of what it means to be an adult."

"But..." Fia plead, spreading her hands wide inconsolably. "But I can't...!"

"I'm not asking you to do this all in one day," Cierra said kindly. "You should probably spend a little time away from it all, with your grandfather and Ladie, to get used to the idea. All I ask is that you _don't _tell Ein the truth about your feelings for him unless you can both understand and disagree with what I just told you once that time is up."

Fia sighed and hung her head. "A-alright. I'll do my best..."

"Good girl," Cierra told her, ruffling her hair supportively. "Now, let's go back inside. It's cold out here, and I'll steer you away from the two of them for the rest of the night. I can set things up with the Elder, so don't worry about finding something to say."

"Okay..."

And so, the two of them headed back into the town hall, finding a relatively quiet corner where Fia could sit and dry the tears she still couldn't help without too many people noticing.

---

As Ein and Ledah slowly made their way back to the well-lit building, hand in hand, Rose (who'd been standing just inside the door) stood and planted her hands on her hips.

"It took you two long enough! Where have you been all this time? Ledah, I was seriously starting to get worried about you!"

"Sorry," Ein said with an awkward laugh. "I know I've been an idiot tonight..."

"I told you to stop apologizing," Ledah murmured to him, his voice gentle.

_"Guys," _Rose groaned, rolling her eyes exaggeratedly. "What am I going to do with the two of you? Jeez. Without me, the both of you would be completely hopeless."

"We know already, _mother," _Ein said pointedly. "You gonna let us in, or what?"

"It's a funny thing about you men," the former familiar remarked, shaking her head. "You never seem to learn from your past mistakes."

"And just what does that mean?" the wingless angel asked with some trepidation.

"Just look at you. Holding hands, standing side by side in the doorframe. Does that mean anything to either of you?"

Ein and Ledah just stared blankly at her.

"Do you remember the reason you had to chase him down in the first place?" Rose asked Ein in tones of slight disgust.

The dark-haired angel's face colored. "Oh."

"Not _again," _Ledah said softly, that faint blush creeping across his cheeks once more. "Ein..."

However, Ein was eyeing his partner with a slightly mischievous look in his eyes. "Well, I suppose that last time we really _didn't _do the thing justice..."

Ledah drew back slightly, his hackles up. "Ein, I don't like that look in your eyes. What are you going to--mmph!"

Not even allowing the blonde seraph to finish his sentence, Ein had grabbed Ledah firmly by the shoulders, pulled him close, and kissed him full on the lips in the clear view of everyone standing anywhere near the door.

After a brief, somewhat shock-induced (and rather unsuccessful) struggle to pry himself out of Ein's vicelike grip, Ledah relaxed and submitted, surrendering as fully as their public location would allow to the other angel's advances. Slipping his arms around Ein's waist, he softly pressed their bodies together as Ein's hands slowly ran down his sides. While the younger angel deepened both their embrace and their kiss, he folded his wings around Ein once again, suddenly very conscious of the fact that his friend and lover no longer had his own and wishing almost to compensate (as well as screen them from the eyes of passersby).

Pulling back slightly, Ein slowly scanned Ledah's eyes for the deep love and trust he now knew would be there. The two angels stared at each other for a while before Ledah leaned in again, this time gently kissing Ein's cheek before snuggling closer, letting his young lover nestle into the soft hollow between the his solid clavicle and the underside of his chin. "...Ein..."

Shifting slightly, Ein softly nipped the sensitive skin near his lips, then planted a lingering kiss on the same spot. "My Ledah..."

They stood like that for some time; the only thing that brought them back to their senses was the scattered applause and whistling from the various watchers who'd just realized that they were done. At _that, _they released their hold and stepped away from each other _very _quickly.

"Now _that _was more like it," Rose said with distinct satisfaction.

"Go, _Ein," _Serene cheered, looking impressed.

"Oh stop it," the wingless angel grumbled, making sure that he and Ledah were _well _away from both door and mistletoe. "You guys are way worse than I ever was."

"You better not keep peeking on us now that you've actually got a significant other," she remarked with a giggle. "Somehow, I doubt Ledah will approve."

"I think I have better things to try for now," Ein told her casually, blatantly giving Ledah a go-over that made the blonde shiver in what he would _never _admit to anyone was delight.

"The next time I need to bathe, I'm taking Lorelei with me, just in case," Ledah informed his scheming companion.

"I consider myself forewarned."

Serene headed off to forcibly remove Lina from the bowl of dried Applecots with a cheerful wave; Ein and Ledah headed towards an open wall. Along the way, the blonde slipped his hand into his lover's and gently squeezed it.

"Yes?" Ein asked, looking up at him with a sultry smile.

Ledah leaned in and softly kissed his cheek. "Whatever else must be said about you, Ein... you certainly are a swift learner."

"Aren't I, though?" Ein laughed and Ledah smirked; they then commandeered chairs to lounge in as various Elendians got up to dance.

---

When the two of them finally returned home at the party's end, the first thing they realized was that Fia wasn't there.

Noticing everyone else's curious looks, Cierra explained. "She wants a little alone time after being stuck with us for so long. So she's going to be staying with her grandfather and Ladie for a little while. She said not to worry, she just needs breathing room."

"I hope that's all it is," Serene said, shaking her head. "We've had enough issues in this house as it is already."

"A_men," _Rose concurred. "Oei, loverboys..."

"Reehhh...? What now?" Ein asked, turning and sounding more than a little irritated at the interruption. He and Ledah had been so fixated on each other that they'd barely registered the conversation, staring deeply into each other's eyes exchanging the occasional light, brief kiss.

"Can we trust you not to do anything _too _bad upstairs? Without Fia, the current sleeping arrangement will work better than before, and it'd suck to have to change it because you two can't keep your hands off each other."

Instantly, both Ein and Ledah's faces flamed. "What do you _take _me for!" the wingless angel exploded. "I... I can't _believe _you'd think we'd do _that _this early!"

"... ... ... ..." Drawing slightly back from the others, Ledah finally said "I have my honor" in a low but thorn-edged voice.

"Well, that's a relief," Serene told them with a wink. "The way you usually behave, Ein... we really do have no way of knowing."

"Yeah, 'cause you're such a pervert," Lina put in.

"Uggh. C'mon, Ledah, let's get outta here," Ein said in an undertone, slipping his hand into the other angel's and tugging on it.

"Right with you." Still giving the girls wary looks, the two of them retreated up the stairs.

"Well, that should keep Ein out of Ledah's pants for a while, at least," Rose said to the others with a satisfied sigh. Cierra, Serene, and Lina all giggled.

---

"Have a good night, Fia," Graham said with a nod as he closed the door to his granddaughter's room tightly.

Lying on her back in bed, the green-eyed fencer sighed. She was exhausted, but greatly doubted that she'd be able to drift off to sleep easily.

She still felt like crying, though she'd sobbed her eyes dry. Not much had changed in her emotional state, aside from the fact that she was now _extremely _grateful to Cierra for suggesting this arrangement. She shuddered to think of the questions she would be facing from the others if she had stayed with them... especially Lina, who had an uncanny ability to read most of Fia's emotions no matter _how _she tried to hide them. And she didn't think she'd be able to stand being in the same building as Ledah...

Let Ein go? She just _couldn't! _It couldn't be for his own good, as Cierra had told her. He would be better off with her, not a barely-functional angel who just served to remind him of everything he had left behind in Asgard... the one who'd kept him away from home for so long...

She _loved _Ein... she loved him... and had for so long... hadn't she waited for him, prayed for him every day he'd been gone...?

With that thought, she closed her eyes and softly drifted away, still wrapped in thoughts of misery and pain.

---

"Ein..."

The wingless angel opened his eyes, a little confused, and turned to where Ledah lay on his side next to him, an anxious look on his face.

"Whassit, Ledah?"

"Please... hold me..."

Now becoming a little concerned, Ein rolled over so that the two of them would be facing each other. "Is something wrong? If you've been having more nightmares..."

"I... I just can't sleep..." the blonde whispered, those beautiful crimson eyes vulnerable. "Every time I believe I might... I get this feeling that everything that's happened has just been a dream, and that if I close my eyes longer than a _second, _it'll all be gone in the morning..." He shivered beneath the down comforter, his voice cracking. "I can't... I just can't let that be... I'd _die _if this were--so I can't sleep, I just _can't."_

His heart instantly doing that wonderful lurching pulse, Ein smiled crookedly. "Come here," he murmured, gently patting the mattress right before him. Carefully, so as not to make too much noise, Ledah scooted towards him. Once there were barely four inches of distance between the two of them, Ein slipped both arms around the other angel's body, pulling them together. "It's not a dream. When you wake up, I'll still be here... waiting with a kiss to meet you." As if to confirm his words, he softly pressed his lips to Ledah's forehead. "I've loved you for so long, I really had no idea that _that's _what it was I was feeling whenever I was with you. I won't _let _it be a dream. We'll wake up together, and then we'll have all our lives into forever to stay that way."

With a small smile and a smaller sigh, Ledah snuggled closer, curling tightly against his friend and lover's body with his unruly bangs pressed to Ein's collarbones. "I... I'm just so fortunate that it was you, Ecthel..."

Sensing Ledah's vulnerable state of mind, Ein didn't even protest at the use of his true-name. Instead, he blew gently on the nape of the blonde angel's neck. "I never knew you were so insecure. You didn't exactly let on when we lived in Asgard..."

"Of course not..." Ledah's voice was already hazy; he didn't even flinch at the sensation of Ein's breath against his skin. "I had to be strong... to protect you..."

Ein's eyebrows shot up; he sought fruitlessly for the words that would express how deeply touched he was at those sweet words, but realized after a moment's time that there was no need--Ledah, exhausted, had already fallen asleep against him, the shifting of his ribcage deep and even.

"I love you forever, dearest," he breathed, resettling his grip on his lover and gently resting his head above the blonde's, so that that fluffy golden hair would be pressed to his skin.

---

A pair of snowbirds twittered to each other as they coasted on a gentle breeze outside. Hearing their chatter, Fia smiled briefly to herself as she neatly folded the laundry pile beside her.

It had been three days since she'd slipped back into her grandfather's household, and she was beginning to step back into the old role she'd had before she and Lina had moved out on their own. So far, she'd said nothing of her real reason for returning, and neither her grandfather nor Ladie had confronted her about it. It was a massive relief--the pain of having Ein pulled from her grip before it had even become definite was still too sharp to speak about.

In the gentle quiet of the afternoons when Ladie was out helping some of the others clear out more snow and her grandfather was writing more of the village chronicles, she'd had enough time to think that she'd come to the painful realization that Ein had never really noticed the truth about how she felt for him, and probably wouldn't unless she spoke up. She still hated to admit it, but she knew that if she _did _say something, it would put Ein in a serious quandary, caught between two of his friends, who each loved him dearly. Fia knew Ein well enough to know how much he hated having to hurt the people he was close to, and confessing would mean that he would have to reject one of them, thereby wounding them deeply. It would cause him _so _much pain...

And yet, what could she do? Not simply stay silent, surely? Speaking might hurt _Ein, _but this forced nothingness was killing _her. _She hated the thought that she might cause him pain in any degree, but living like this was absolute _torture!_

Twisted every way, and she had no idea where to turn...

Well, she supposed it was far past time to seek solace from her usual source. Folding the last bit of laundry with a sigh, she pushed the wicker basket beneath her bed and padded softly through the halls to her grandfather's study.

She'd timed her entrance well; Graham was just setting aside his umpteenth dusty, ancient-looking volume when she opened the door.

"Come in, Fia," he said with a welcoming smile. "Is there something you need?"

Smiling wanly in reply, Fia headed over to the high-backed chair that rested against the edge of the study, at a right angle from the desk where Graham sat.

"Cierra told you why I'm here, didn't she?" she began, the smile fading away.

"She said you would need some time after losing young Ein to the heart of another," was her grandfather's reply.

Leaning back against the chair and staring up at the ceiling, Fia sighed. "It's _so _hard," she said softly, the pain within her finally leaking out of the thin crack in her speech. "I understand that there's not much I can do now--not without really hurting Ein, at least--but I don't know what I'm supposed to _do _about it. There's this big ball of hurt inside me, and it makes me think and feel all these awful things... oh, Grandfather, I've never hated anyone in my _life, _and it's so horrible! I can't help but feel so _wicked _for it, but right now all I can do is hate Ledah for all I'm worth. There's a black ugly pit inside me, and it's killing me from the inside out... I can't eat, I have trouble sleeping, and I can't even _pray. _What should I do...? Oh, what should I _do?"_

Graham was silent for a moment, then spoke in his slow, weathered voice, choosing his words carefully. "While hate is a sad emotion, it's part of what makes us human. As long as you do nothing to act upon those feelings, Fia, it's alright to be angry at Ledah... perfectly natural, in fact."

"But I don't _want _to be angry anymore," Fia protested wretchedly, wringing her hands. "And I can't help that I still want to be with Ein! I love him...!"

Graham cleared his throat. "Fia... did I ever tell you the story of how I met your grandmother?"

Confused, the green-eyed fencer fell silent. "N...no. But what does that have to do with...?" Her voice trailed off as she gave her grandfather a curious look.

"Then listen, please. I think perhaps it may help you.

"When I was a young man, only a few years older than you are now, and Elendia was in the charge of my own grandparents, we received an unusual visitor. A young valkyrie from the eyrie to the west of Valhalla Forest arrived in mid-autumn after having been attacked by wild beasts. Her injuries weren't bad, but they were significant enough for her to stay with us for some time.

"She was a beautiful woman, with long, elegant red hair and sharp hazel eyes. We didn't have any valkyries in Elendia back then, so she was something of a curiosity among the young men. I seem to recall that Rebecca's grandfather had an eye on her for a while, but was eventually discouraged. Because it was my parents, then the village healers, who took her in and cared for her, I like to think I got to know her fairly well.

"She was a right firebrand in her own way, but also charming and able to hold an intelligent conversation, something that the girls around our village had never been able to have with me. We exchanged life stories, and she entertained me and the other friends she'd made with her spearplay.

"You may already have expected this, but it wasn't long before I grew to love her.

"She grew more and more beautiful every day in my eyes; each smile she gave me was the most precious gift I'd ever had. I felt sure that I wouldn't be able to bear the rest of my life without her.

"She'd been staying in Elendia for quite some time, and by that point, the midsummer festivals were just about to begin. I resolved that I would tell her my feelings and propose to her at midnight on the last of the celebrations.

"However, in the middle of the festivities, another valkyrie from her home arrived in order to take her back. It was clear from the way they behaved around each other that they had been involved for some time, and she introduced him to us as her intended. She thanked us for caring for her for so long, and left with him.

"I was crushed. It seemed as though my life was all raining down on me--I'm sure you can understand. Before long, I'd fallen into a deep depression, knowing the woman I'd loved was out of my reach forever. I spent most of my time sleeping or scorning the company of others, until one day a village girl I hadn't known very well named Katrine approached me.

"She expressed concern at the state of mind I was in, and gave me a lunch she'd prepared herself. A little confused, I'd accepted it; every day from then on, she sought me out to spend a few hours with me around midday.

"I was intrigued that she'd slipped beneath my notice for so long, but she'd always been a rather quiet young lady and spent most of her time in her parents' home reading. I wasn't quite in the state to notice it, but looking back on those years, it's easy to see that she was becoming fond of me.

"After a few months, she confessed that she'd grown to care for me. I was surprised, but rather desperate, and although she wasn't my unrequited valkyrie love, I decided she was better than nothing and asked her to marry me shortly later. She accepted.

"That was probably the best decision I ever made in my life. I grew to reciprocate her feelings more and more every day, and grew to love her in a friendly rather than passionate fashion. She did her best by me, and I made sure she knew how much I appreciated it. Thanks to her, I was blessed with your mother and my wonderful son-in-law, bless their souls.

"And my unfortunate relationship with the young valkyrie was not without its benefits... in a few years, their eyrie extended bonds of friendship to Elendia, and a few of their young people came to settle here... eventually, that number included her daughter, Ladie, who has been a blessing to us ever since."

"Grandfather..." Fia murmured.

"I'm glad I chose to marry Katrine instead of Ladie's mother," Graham told her. "I'm the person I am today because of her. And if I hadn't allowedKatrine into my life, I wouldn't have you now."

Fia blushed.

"So perhaps you aren't destined to stay with Ein. Only time will tell, as his relationship with Ledah develops and they stay together or fall apart. If the two of you aren't meant to be, you can be sure that there is _someone _in this wide world who should stay with you. Your prince will come someday."

Slowly, the young fencer nodded. "I... think I understand now. But... until then, what should I do about Ledah...? I don't want to go on feeling this way forever..."

"Understandably, child. If all else fails, try talking to him... you've never gotten his side of the story. I'm sure you'll be able to understand more easily if you do."

---

Another day had passed before Fia got her perfect opportunity.

Ein had gone off to help Cierra and Serene set up the Christmas decorations at the town hall, and so Ledah (according to Rose, at least) had gone off to the newly-cleared Grove of Repose with a book. Murmuring her thanks, the fencer headed off to the mostly-bare trees and benches on the walkway that surrounded the World Tree.

The still-solitary angel was there, all right; he seemed completely absorbed in whatever he was reading, at least until Fia approached and softly cleared her throat.

"Ah..." Looking up with some surprise, Ledah dogeared his page and closed his book. "Would... you like to sit down?"

"Yes, thank you." With that, the blonde seraph scooted over on the bench he was sitting on, and Fia carefully folded her skirts to light beside him.

"And to what do I owe the honor of your presence?" Ledah asked with a slight smile and upraised eyebrow.

"Curiosity," Fia admitted. "I know it's extremely forward of me, but I was wondering about you and Ein... how far do you really go back?"

"About fifteen years," Ledah replied. "And no, I don't think it's forward. We haven't really explained to anyone, after all... He and I met as children, and have been close ever since."

"Really?"

"It was probably more due to the unusual circumstances of Ein's birth than anything else," Ledah admitted with a shrug. "By that time, the Magi had realized that demons were beginning to reappear in Riviera, and had decided something had to be done. They combined their powers to create a life that would one day rise to become a Grim Angel and destroy the demons for them... an angel who came into the world under the name Ecthel." At Fia's questioning look, he continued. "Yes, that was Ein. He dislikes being called 'Ecthel', although sometimes he lets me get away with it. Ein was what he was called as a child, and he prefers that name.

"Although he was going to be a powerful angel, and eventually a hero to Asgard--and Riviera too, of course--things were awkward for Ein. He was mistrusted by most of the other children because of his origins, and the fact that he had no family. All he had to return to every day were the soldiers the Magi appointed as his guardians.

"It didn't help that Ein's wings looked different from ours, either--his feathers had an almost iridescent greenish sheen, which the other children found disturbing for the most part. All they really cared about was that he was different, which made him an instant social outcast.

"We didn't really meet until he was about four years old, although I'd heard of him before. I was on my way to the library that day... as I recall, there was a dispute with a few older children. He'd been playing by himself, and they'd taken the ball he'd had and started teasing him, picking on him for his appearance and lack of proper parents.

"They didn't mean him any serious physical harm, but Ein didn't know that. He was crying, terrified... I caught sight of him by chance, and my heart just went out to him then... I told the other kids off, and took Ein with me to the library so he wouldn't have to stay there.

"Even though we were both so young, there was... sort of a connection between us from the first time our eyes met. All through his childhood, I had a driving desire to protect him from anything that might hurt him in any way... he was just such an innocent boy, and he hadn't done anything to deserve the treatment he was receiving. It was quite some time before I started to realize that he was becoming attractive, but there was love between us for longer than that. It's just changed over the years."

"I... see," Fia said slowly. As he spoke of the past, Ledah had acquired a distant look in his crimson eyes, and a faint smile had played about his lips. It made him seem so much more gentle than he'd appeared when the two of them had met... with his heart intact, he was no longer the stern and judgemental angel who was completely unable to care for the sake of the Sprites who were dying by the thousands to raise Seth and actuate the Retribution. It was easier to see how Ein had come to care so deeply for him...

"It's funny, considering my past attitude towards Ein, how our positions have been reversed by fate," Ledah continued, his smile growing as he shook his head, tucking stray tufts of wild blonde hair behind his right ear. "I was always so convinced that I needed to protect him, and now... now I'm so dependent on him, I can hardly believe he used to be so helpless."

"Are you really?"

"I owe _everything _to Ein," Ledah said decisively. "My heart, my well-being, my _life--_several times over. If it weren't for his interference, I would be dead, or still emotionless, several times over. Thinking of the night he gave me his answer still scares me. If he hadn't come to me then... I really might've..." He closed his eyes and shivered slightly, his wings resettling. "I really might've killed myself."

Fia's eyes widened. _"What? _But... why would you even consider that?"

Ledah sighed. "One of the drawbacks to getting my emotions back was that I lost my purpose. I couldn't return to Asgard, and even now I don't completely know what I'm going to do with the rest of my life. The only thing that kept me alive was the knowledge that I was in love with Ein, and that I might still have a chance to persuade him to love me in return. While I was still so sick with that fever... one night when I was delirious, it just slipped out, and his reaction was shock. When I woke and realized what I'd done, I panicked--that wasn't how I'd meant to tell him, and I was mortally afraid that he would reject me. I avoided him all day for fear of those words, and that night, when I met up with Ein, I didn't notice the mistletoe on the door until it was too late and Rose wouldn't let us get out of it. Ein was clearly flustered about about the idea of having to kiss me, and protested--that was when I started thinking I was right, it was too early, I'd destroyed my only chance, and he would hate me now because of how I felt about him...

"He didn't say anything even after I had to kiss him on the forehead, but when he started, all I could think was _Gods, here it comes_--I couldn't bear hearing it out of him, so I just ran. It the only thing I was able to do... I didn't even think to fly. Without Ein to love me... my life was over. I didn't care how I died, so long as I did. I couldn't stand the thought of life with no love and no purpose...

"If Ein hadn't caught up with me, I would be dead now. It's not just a matter of our feelings for each other... I _need _him to stay alive. I know it's selfish of me. I wake up every day sure that it was all a dream, but it _isn't, _and I can't believe I've been this lucky. Ein is _everything _to me. And I know he'll take care of me, because that's just who he is."

Lightly, Fia laid a hand on Ledah's shoulder, offering him a trembling smile. "Well, I just want you to remember that the rest of us are all here for you, too... thank you for telling me this. You've helped me understand a few things, and I appreciate that you told me the truth. Thank you, Ledah..."

"It's I who should be thanking you for sitting through all that," the angel replied, looking a little red-faced. "That's another problem with getting my emotions back... now I talk far too much. I've been keeping you from your chores at your grandfather's--I'm sorry. Good luck, and please come back home soon. It's cramped with seven, but we miss you."

Fia's smile held. "I'll be back sooner than you think. You know, no one ever warned us that you were so sweet, Ledah... but you're right, I do have to go. But thank you. I don't mind when you talk a lot... it just gives me more to think about. I'll see you again soon..." Standing, she dashed off, waving to him as she did.

Once she was back on the path to her grandfather's home, she slowed her pace to a walk.

She hadn't known... and now, how could she intrude, knowing just how deeply Ledah's need for Ein ran? Perhaps her grandfather was right, anyway... her prince might still be coming in the future.

She would cry a little... but eventually...

Her heart considerably lighter even though her vision was blurred, she headed off to give Cierra the answer she had promised.

---

NEXT TIME: The moment has finally arrived... their first time. :3 It's Christmas Eve, and Ein and Ledah have grown closer than ever. With their relationship solidifying and Fia on her way to acceptance, they only have one barrier left to cross before their hearts are made one forever. Oh, I am gonna have FUN with this chapter. XD

Rating will be rising due to a scene of fairly graphic yaoi sex. Please do read, but just be forewarned... XD XD XDDDD


	8. At Last

A Very Riviera Christmas

DISCLAIMER: If I did own Riviera, I would've had trouble keeping mature content out of it... which is why it may be a good thing that I don't, when you come to think of it :3

Warning: This chapter contains lemon! Read at your own risk!

"Ein..."

Shifting his grip slightly, the wingless angel turned his teasing nibble at the side of Ledah's throat into a playful nip, then a long and passionate kiss.

Shivering with the intensity of the moment, Ledah arched his back inwards, his long pale fingers digging into Ein's hips as he cried out feverishly. "Ah... _Ein..."_

It was nearly midnight, and the two of them were sitting up in bed, their room lit by the dusky cast of a low, wan-flamed oil lamp. In the middle of preparing to sleep, Ein had impulsively ambushed Ledah with a kiss; the two of them were now entangled although still mostly clothed in the middle of the bedsheets, with Ein practically sitting in the other angel's lap and Ledah completely helpless in his lover's arms. It wasn't something either of them had planned--as he'd seen Ledah slip off his cloak, Ein had been hit hard with the inexorable force of desire, and he'd just let it carry him as it willed--but if Ein let himself think about it, he'd been waiting for an opportunity like this for a while now. To be totally honest, his love for the blonde seraph had become so strong that it had evolved into a nearly painful physical wanting... which, if not satisfied, would surely break out in whatever way it could.

_"Gods... _Ein... _Ein...!"_

Only half-aware of the action, Ein let his hands drift up to the fastenings of Ledah's vest and began to pull it open, tie by tie.

Once that was off, with Ledah apparently none the wiser, Ein's right hand slid slowly from the other angel's ribs to his hip, and from there, it went lazily of its own accord towards his groin.

In that moment, Ledah apparently came to his senses, his hands suddenly at Ein's chest, gently propelling the two of them apart.

"Ledah..." Ein began, eyes pleading, hands shaking.

_"No, _Ein," was the response, given between shallow bursts of breath. "Please... stop. We have to talk about this."

"I _need _you, Ledah..."

"Ein, please." Ledah's eyes were shadowed as he tugged the front of his vest back together, pained and vulnerable. "The gods only know how much I need you, too. But before we do... anything... we have to talk. Okay?"

Ein sighed. He couldn't say no to the look on Ledah's face. "Alright. But what is there to talk about? We love each other. This is _right,_ I know it is."

"I never said it wasn't. But, if I may be honest with you, Ein... you barely know what you're doing. At your level of experience, it's too easy to make mistakes. We need to be careful. I don't want to hurt you, or make you feel _any _pain your first time." As Ein opened his mouth to protest, looking confused, Ledah gently laid a finger to his parted lips to hush him. "I know that it will probably be you that takes me. But if something goes wrong and I'm hurt, I know how that will make _you _feel. And I don't want any bad memories associated with... us."

"I... could hurt you...?" Ein repeated, suddenly feeling very stupid and aware that he was revealing the depth of his naïveté at the same time. But with something like this... he didn't really care. If Ledah's well-being was at stake, then...

"Yes, and badly, if you aren't gentle enough." Seeing the stricken look on Ein's face, Ledah shook his head. "If you let me, I could probably talk you through it. It wouldn't be so severe--this is _not _going to be my first time--but I'm sure you're aware of the great number of people who wield sex as a weapon. An intent for cruelty or brutality--or just inexperience in someone well-meaning--can make it _very _painful." Resting his hand on Ein's head, Ledah smiled at his young lover. "Don't give me that look... I know that you would never consciously decide to harm me."

Still trying to process everything he'd been told, Ein realized what Ledah had just confessed, and looked at the other angel, his brow furrowing. "So, wait... that means... you've...?"

With a sigh, Ledah removed the hand, wrapping his arms around his own chest as he stared into the distance. "You didn't know him," he said quietly. "It was... some time ago, before I became a Grim Angel. I was being used, but I didn't realize it until it was too late... I was merely a plaything to him, and when it became clear to him that I wasn't going to satisfy his needs, he cast me aside. That night, I... I went into things not fully understanding, and once I knew what he wanted, I was too afraid to refuse. I was young... naïve. He was... rough with me, and it was..." Ledah just shook his head, unable to find a word. "I felt no pleasure. I was unable... in the midst of so much pain..." He shivered, and continued in a softer voice. "My virginity wasn't _sacrificed, _it was _destroyed. _I don't want it to be like that for you. If I ever... I won't let you hurt, won't let you bleed. I don't want you to be in too much pain to move when it's over. I want the night we make love to be _nothing _but good memories, for _both _of us. So..."

"Ledah..." There was both horror and anguish in Ein's voice.

The blonde shook his head. "You needn't worry... it was a long time ago."

_"That's _not it," Ein said angrily, sweeping Ledah into his arms and hugging him tightly. "How could he _do _that to you? That's just horrible! I would never, _ever _hurt you like that--I swear, _forever!"_

"I know... but thank you, Ein..."

After a moment, the wingless angel felt compelled to ask, speaking in a low and gentle voice. "So... what happened...?"

"He was angry with me, for being so weak... and things were ruined between us, anyway. He left me, and I did my best to avoid him. But the worst part... was that even after that, I still wanted him to love me. As I told you, I was young, and _very _foolish. He... almost broke my heart."

"I'm so sorry, Ledah," Ein murmured. "You deserved so much better."

"I have it now." And for some time, there was silence as the two of them held each other.

Eventually, though, Ein cleared his throat and began again, shy but obviously trying. "So... so is there anything else I should know...? About... about sex, I mean..."

Ledah, not budging from his position in Ein's arms, sighed before responding. "To keep something like that from happening, we need to be properly prepared... and having some kind of lubricant would most likely be helpful in your case. As for me... it's been almost ten years, so I expect that the scar tissue will have healed, or nearly. But as I'm not a virgin, it still won't be quite so painful. Also, I know what to expect. And I trust you, Ein. I know that with you... I won't have anything to be afraid of..." He shook his head slightly. "I'll give you a better explanation some other time. I'm tired... my heart hurts... and I don't want to move much. I... I feel safe, with you."

"I'll try to live up to that," Ein told him, rubbing Ledah's lower back supportively. "Okay. I won't push you. You're right, we should sleep. So rest, dearest..."

There was no response--Ledah, it seemed, had already taken Ein's advice.

---

Since the day Ein, Rose, and Ledah had returned to Elendia, Lina had put up with a lot, but _this _was one thing she would not stand for.

After getting into her favorite tunic-shirt and skirt, she marched up the stairs, her face set into a fierce scowl that would've set any of the other girls in the house into fits of hysterical laughter if they'd seen it. Stomping as she went, she blasted open the door to the upstairs room.

As she'd suspected, Ein and Ledah were still curled up in the bedsheets, with the blonde's head on the brunet's chest. They were still wearing their _clothes, _for the sake of almighty Banango trees! And at a time like this!

Getting a running start, she launched herself into the air, letting out a shriek as she did: "_E_-iiiiiinnn! _Le_-daaaaaahh! Wake up RIGHT NOW!"

Both of them jolted awake right as she landed, bouncing the mattress hard enough to afford them the leverage to get on their feet. While Ein just jumped to the floor with a look of complete and utter confusion on his face, Ledah caught Lorelei's hilt in one successful grab, landing in a perfect battle stance with his wings flared warily. At about the same time, both angels realized what was going on, and sagged into more relaxed postures.

"Ye _gods," _Ein managed, clutching his chest. "Lina, don't _do _that!"

Ledah sighed deeply. "Believe me, Ein, it could've been _much _worse than her--don't complain..."

"Lina can't _believe _the nerve of you two!" the girl scolded, shaking both fists in front of her chest. "Tomorrow is _Christmas! _How can you sleep in at a time like this! _How?"_

"It isn't Christmas _yet, _Lina. That's how." Ein groaned and scrubbed a hand across his eyes. "Ugh. What time is it, anyway?"

Staring out the window with his brow furrowed, Ledah shook his head. "About... eleven, I'd say. Regardless of Lina's motives, we should be rather glad she came up here... any longer, and people would've started to wonder."

"So come _on _then!" Lina yelled, off the bed now and bouncing up and down.

"Someday you really need to teach me how you can tell time just by looking at the sky," Ein said, sighing. "Well... I guess we'd better go, then."

_"You _go. _I _am going to get a change of clothes."

"As long as _somebody _comes down!" Lina cried, waving her fists again. "Come on come on come _onnnnn!"_

As she grabbed his wrist, Ein turned and smiled back at Ledah, who was already beginning to remove his vest. "We'll talk later, then?"

"Don't worry. ...And stop staring. I'm not undressing for _you."_

"...Yet," Ein said pointedly, adding a wicked grin.

"Stop being such a pervert, Ein," Lina scolded, yanking on his hand. "Come on, Fia's making pancakes!"

Both boys perked up visibly at the mention of Fia's pancakes, which (like any pastry she made) were prized throughout Elendia.

"You had _better _save me some, or there is going to be a lot of pain and suffering this morning," Ledah warned.

"Of course I will, but the way this one is likely to scarf 'em, we may have to share."

_"Hey!" _Lina protested.

"I wouldn't mind." Miraculously, Ledah managed to keep a mostly straight face, although there was a mischievous glint in his eyes and the corner of his mouth twitched just slightly.

"I bet. Well, let's go then, shall we?" Ein told Lina.

_"Finally! _It's not like you won't see each other in fifteen minutes anyway! Come _on!"_

And with that, she hauled Ein down the stairs.

---

However, as soon as the wingless angel made it to the table, all thoughts of saving food for Ledah went clear out the window.

Fia had outdone herself, as usual. There were already a few heaping stacks of pancakes on the table, being fought over by Serene and Rose. Lina dashed to the table and began demanding her fair share as Ein looked around; Cierra and Fia were still at the stove, with the scarlet witch monitoring a pan of sausages and the fencer carefully flipping over another pancake in the making.

"That looks _soooo _good," Ein groaned. "Hey, come on, scoot over... I want some, too!"

Mass pandemonium ensued.

Finally, Fia held a plate stacked with exactly four pancakes above her head. "This is the very last batch," she warned them all. "I will _not _make any more until tomorrow."

"No thanks," Cierra demurred. "I'm still waiting for the sausages to finish, anyway, and I want to save some room for them."

"Me neither. Hmmmbleeeh, I feel like I'm gonna be sick," Rose agreed.

"Mine!" Lina squealed.

"Oh no you don't, you little squirt," Serene growled. "Those pancakes are for _me!"_

"Rock-paper-scissors!" Ein yelled. Frantically, the three of them chose a hand sign.

While both Lina and Serene came up scissors, Ein had chosen rock.

"Damn..."

"Ein, you big meanie!"

"There's no contesting the awesome skill of a Grim Angel," Ein gloated, removing the pancakes from Fia's hold with a wicked grin.

With the girls fuming, Ein triumphantly sat, lifted his fork, and prepared to dig in.

"Hey Ein, scoot back a little."

It was Ledah's voice. Looking up, Ein realized that the seraph had changed into another set of priest's clothes identical to yesterday's but for the fact that they were black instead of that dark crimson he usually wore.

"Um... okay." Slightly confused, Ein backed his chair up a few inches.

"Thank you." And with no more warning than that, Ledah planted himself firmly in Ein's lap, sitting sideways to give his wings room, and removed fork and plate from the stunned angel's hands.

"What--what--what--what are you--!" Ein demanded, his entire face aflame with blush.

"I'm glad you saved me these, as I requested."

Ein realized that he was caught, but refused to give up so easily. "But... but... my pancakes! I won those fair and square!"

"It's your own fault for not remembering." Looking over the plate, Ledah nodded, a mildly satisfied expression on his face. "Thank the gods... I got here before you had the opportunity to slaughter these with butter. Would someone pass the syrup, please?"

It took a moment for the girls to react--they'd all been stupefied into blank-staring shock at the completely blatant, nonchalant, _candid _way Ledah had claimed his perch.

"Ummm... okay," Rose finally said, shoving the half-full pitcher of glutinous liquid across the table to him.

"Thank you." With that, the seraph casually drizzled a trail of syrup over the pancake stack, still acting as though nothing was out of the ordinary.

"But... but..." Ein whimpered, still torn between the loss of the pancakes and Ledah's unusually intimate actions.

Ledah, one eyebrow arched, held up a forkful of pancake and looked down at Ein, amused. "What now? I _do _recall that we'd agreed to share... do you want me to feed you?"

Ein's blush, if possible, deepened. "N..no, that's alright."

"Oh, good. I'm rather enjoying these." Even now completely calm, Ledah continued eating.

Getting a sly look on his face, Ein smirked. "But, Ledah..."

Reaching for Ein's glass of water, the seraph gave him a questioning look.

"Are you sure you don't want a... sausage?"

Immediately, Ledah spat the water he'd been drinking back into the glass, dropped it like a hot brick, and hunched over, coughing.

_Maybe I've gone a little too far... _Steadying Ledah's still-shaking body with both hands, Ein gave him a look of concern. "Are you okay?"

As the coughing subsided, however, Ledah remained in his bent-double position. It took Ein a moment to realize why, and once he had, he couldn't stop staring for sheer shock. The blonde seraph, out of his choking paroxysm, was now in a seizing fit of laughter.

Cierra and Rose, having understood the joke, were also giggling madly; Serene was looking at Ein with a vaguely disturbed expression, and Fia and Lina just seemed confused (apparently, Ein's perverse humor had gone straight over their heads).

_"Ein!" _Ledah managed between laughing and gasps for air.

"Okay, I will admit that maybe Ledah got what he deserved for acting like such a vixen all of a sudden, but still..." Serene shook her head. "Ein, you _pervert..."_

Finally getting himself under control, Ledah seized the nearest water glass (which happened to be Lina's) and poured its contents over Ein's head. "I'd say you need a lot _more _cold water where _that _came from, too! Don't _do _that to me while I'm trying to drink, you idiot!"

Rather than making some kind of catty remark or protesting the unrequested bath, Ein threw his arms around Ledah's waist, smiling.

"The _weirdest _things turn you on," Rose commented, getting up to retrieve the pieces of the glass Ledah had dropped.

"It's not _that," _Ein protested, shifting so that his head rested against Ledah's chest. "This is... this is just the first time Ledah's laughed in... it has to be six or seven years, now! I... I'm just so happy, and so relieved... this means that you really _are _getting back to normal again!"

Also sporting a small smile, Fia walked forward and put her arms around the two of them. "Is... that so? I... I'm very happy for you both."

_"Six or seven years?" _Serene asked, sobered. "But that's... that's awful... and unbelievable, too. How could even the _good _Magi do that to someone?"

"The only one you've met is Hector, so you wouldn't know," Rose said wryly, "but even the nicest ones are wholly consumed with the desire to protect Asgard. Even Hector was, to a point. I think the gods might've put a geas on them before they died... the point is, though, that they will do _anything _to preserve the land the gods sacrificed themselves to defend, even if it came to laying down their _own _lives."

"And that's what all of _us _were taught to believe, too," Ein put in. "That Asgard took priority over every individual life in the world. That's part of the reason why I was a social outcast there... I laid too much importance on people's lives against the greater picture. But I refuse to believe that it's okay for those who fight so hard, with so much conviction, to be treated as though their lives don't matter..."

"Well, that difference in you is contagious," Ledah commented, leaning down to kiss his lover and makeshift chair. "I've spent enough time with you that it's begun to rub off."

"Note, however, that with all his high-minded ideals about the importance of the individual, Ein is still obscenely self-sacrificing..." Rose commented. "Anyway, what he said _is _true. I was assigned to Ein a few months after he became a Grim Angel, and the Magi had already run their virtual wrecking ball through Ledah's emotions by the time I met him. And that was two years ago... he'd been made a Grim Angel some time before Ein, too."

Lina stared up at the boys with big, sad amber-brown eyes. "That's so sad..."

"Which is why I'm so _happy _that he's finally back to normal," Ein said pointedly, hugging Ledah all the more closely.

"Stop that, you're getting my clothes all wet," the seraph protested, although his scarlet cheeks told a quite different story.

---

After the aftereffects of the fiasco were finally all cleared away, Ein and Ledah slipped out of the house to head into the Grove of Repose, where they would hopefully be able to salvage a little solitude.

"I'm proud of you, you know?" Ein murmured, tightly squeezing the other angel's hand.

"I can't see why." All the same, Ledah was still wearing that soft, somewhat lopsided smile, cheeks flushed with both embarrassment and pleasure at the praise.

"Oh, you know _exactly _why," Ein insisted. "This is a big step for you. The further out of the closet we can get you, the better. I don't want to see you bottling your emotions up ever again, unless you absolutely _have _to. I like seeing you break out laughing. It's good for you."

"You _like _seeing me embarrass myself?" Ledah asked, his smile becoming equal parts shy and coy. "It _would _be your perverse humor that finally destroys my control, too."

"Of course I like seeing you embarrass yourself. You're cute when you're flustered. And you love my perverse humor. I can tell, no matter how hard you try to hide it."

"C..cute...? I am...?"

"Adorable," Ein confirmed, grinning and then leaning over for another soft, precious, tumultuous press of lips to lips. "Well, it looks like the coast is clear. It seems as though I need to catch up on my education, so would you mind doing the honors?"

"Hmmmmmnn." With a peaceable sigh, Ledah steered Ein over to a nearby bench and gently sat him down. "Well, what do you want to know?"

"How would I end up hurting you, and how can I prevent that?" the wingless angel asked, more serious now.

"Make the size comparisons in your mind," Ledah told him with one upraised eyebrow. "As I told you last night, without proper preparation, the ring muscle and sphincters especially can be easily torn, _especially _if one has never had any prior sexual contact. It causes substantial bleeding and can be _very _painful. With time, the risk lessens."

"Preparation..." Ein prompted with an upraised eyebrow.

"A slower stretch. Usually facilitated with one or more fingers."

"So... in other words, hand service."

"To put it in layman's terms, I suppose. And for a virgin, it's still better to have something to use as a lubricant. The less chances taken, the better."

Ein gave Ledah a sidelong look. "So... where'd you learn all this, anyway?"

"That's for me to know and you to find out," the blonde said, retaining the completely straight face he'd maintained throughout the conversation.

Ein sighed exaggeratedly. "You know, sometimes I think you _enjoy _torturing me."

"I do," Ledah said, a note of satisfaction creeping into his voice, although none of it showed on his face. _"You _happen to be cute when you squirm."

"Lucky me."

"Anything else?" Although Ledah was barely smiling, his eyes were dancing.

Ein sighed exaggeratedly. "You are enjoying this _way _too much." Shaking his head, he continued. "Well, if it's not too much trouble... I'd like to know..."

---

After about half an hour's discussion, with Ein growing increasingly uncomfortable and Ledah's patience undented, the seraph gently put a hand on his lover's shoulder to silence him.

"I think you know enough by now. And besides, I doubt you want to continue this discussion with Lina coming our way..."

Ein looked up and sweatdropped. "Oh... she is? I didn't even notice..."

Indeed, the ponytailed carrot-top was bouncing down the snowy way towards them.

"Hiiii!" the girl beamed, energetic as ever.

"Uhm... hi. Is there something you need, Lina?"

In response, she only bounced more rapidly, glowing with excitement. "Oooooh, Christmas is just tomorrow... I can't wait, I can't wait!" Giving the boys a furtive smile, she toyed with the end of one ponytail. "And you two are just going to _love _your presents. I wonder what mine are..."

Ein frowned. _Presents... why does that give me a bad feeling? I did my shopping when we got back here... Rose, Fia, Lina, Serene, and Cierra. So..._

_Oh, _crap.

He'd completely forgotten to get Ledah anything.

"Uh, guys..." The angel and the archer looked at him curiously. "I just remembered something _really _important that I've got to take care of. I'm sorry, but it's something that needs doing right now, so..."

Ledah smiled and shook his head. "It's alright. I think Lina and I can keep ourselves occupied for however long you need." He gave the little girl a sidelong look and a smile; she giggled.

Smiling back at the two of them, Ein bobbed his head gratefully. "Thanks..." With that, he stood and headed off, sparing only a single look back. By the time he did, Lina had already hopped up on the bench behind Ledah, and was telling him something, her hands on his shoulders and the ends of her ponytails drifting onto his wings.

_Gods, he just keeps pulling things like that on me every day, _Ein thought to himself, smiling wryly. _Who would ever have thought that he and Lina would get along so well together? They're almost polar opposites, yet he's even more indulgent of her than _I _am, and he's always so gentle with her. Ledah, there are so many sides to you that I still don't really know... and I can't help but love that about us, that we'll have the time to continue to grow..._

With those fleeting tender thoughts aside, Ein started wondering what he was going to do about the problem of Ledah's gift. He'd be able to dredge something up if he thought about it enough, but he wanted this to be something _really _special, something really memorable... it was, after all, their first Christmas as a _real _couple.

Ein had been wandering aimlessly for several minutes when he almost walked into Fia, who was also outside, seemingly just enjoying the clear skies and the crispness of the midwinter air.

"Ah... E-Ein...? What are you...?" she asked helplessly as the wingless angel stepped back quickly to avoid tripping either himself or her.

"Fia, _I need your help," _Ein said earnestly, taking hold of her arms just above her elbows.

"U..um, what is it that you want...?" she asked shyly.

Ein explained as quickly as he could without omitting any details. "I feel like such an idiot, too, because I remember thinking to myself that I had to be sure to get him something special the day after I did my gift-finding for everyone _else. _You're really good at this kind of thing, Fia--what should I do?"

The young fencer was silent for a moment, her expression unreadable. "Maybe..." she said softly, digging in a pocket of her skirts.

Ein was silent, waiting.

"You... can give him this," she said in a dry whisper, holding out a small flat box.

Ein took it and opened it. Resting in the folds of a tiny plush cushion was a thin gold band, with one small, smooth red stone in the shape of a heart resting between delicate silver wings at its highest point.

"Whoa, _Fia..." _The wingless angel stared at her out of wide eyes. "This is _perfect! _But how did you... how could you have had...?"

"It's your gift..." Fia told him in a small voice, offering a tiny shrug. "I... want you to be happy, Ein. And if that means you need to be with Ledah, then you have my blessing."

Although Ein was really beginning to feel as though he shouldn't be accepting the ring, he decided not to pursue Fia's reasoning any further; the girl was beginning to look both flustered and depressed. Instead, he carefully closed the box and put his arms around her.

"Thank you... thank you, from the bottom of my heart. Fia... I'm so glad I have you here as my friend. You're just so thoughtful... I have no idea what I would do without you."

She only smiled and rested her head on his shoulder in return.

---

Night had fallen softly, and almost all of Elendia was asleep.

The girls were all downstairs, having reorganized their sleeping arrangements so that Ein and Ledah would continue to have the upstairs bedroom to themselves for the rest of the winter. Even now, Ein wasn't completely sure whether they just did it out of respect or so that they wouldn't have to hear it if anything happened between the two young men.

The room was lit by one single candle, which provided only enough light to see the world in a soft, rosy cast that made everything seem even more beautiful and perfect than it really was. Even though the snow still piled up to the bottom of the windowsill, the curtains were drawn so that none of the moon's white reflected light would shatter the mood.

And in the near-silence and half-light, Ein and Ledah stood clasped together beside the bed.

Between kisses, short breaths for air, and soft sighs of yearning, they had slowly destroyed their last inhibitions; with their hearts and minds in agreement at last, they began to take the first steps towards the oneness they both needed so desperately.

Instead of drawing back when Ein's still-hesitant fingers went to the ties of his vest and undid them slowly, Ledah simply folded his wings around the two of them in a shielding black curtain, and shucked the dark garment when his lover was finished, allowing in a brief glimpse of the low light as he carefully allowed his wings passage through the delicate slits in the back of the fabric. Gently, deftly, he unfastened the strip of cloth Ein used as a belt, then slipped off the long jacket that the younger angel wore.

"Ledah--" the brunet began, but the fair-haired seraph cut him off with a kiss. The time for words was over. The speech of their hearts held sway now.

Emboldened by Ledah's quiet insistence, Ein gathered up the soft fabric of the blonde's robes in both hands at his waist, kilting the garment's voluminous skirts higher and higher by handspans as Ledah himself undid his white ruff. The room was silent but for their soft and ragged breathing, and now the gentle swish of fabric as the two angels at last maneuvered Ledah out of his robes completely. Drawing back for the space of a second, Ein ran both hands over his lover's ivory skin, adding a little pressure as he trailed his fingers down Ledah's sides and slipped a forefinger to the side to tease the delicate slit of the blonde's navel. At Ledah's soft hiss of surprise, Ein smiled to himself. _Inexperienced _didn't always mean _incompetent._

Letting his own touch linger, Ledah gently slipped off Ein's undershirt, experimentally tracing the tip of one finger over one of the wingless angel's branching scars as he brought the cream-colored garment over his lover's head. Ein flinched, then shuddered. When his wings had been literally ripped out of his body, the process had been messy and the wounds had healed sloppily, with soft pinkish-brown scars wherever a thin thread of his flesh, or a vein, or a strand of muscle had yanked further than the wing itself. Even after two years, the deep, ugly reminders of his Grim Angel trial hadn't even begun to fade. The skin had always been slightly sensitive there; now, heat had seemed to flare briefly along the faint lines Ledah had touched. Letting out a tiny, whimpering moan, Ein shivered again, feeling heat sear through him a second time as Ledah gently probed the branchlike scars once more. The sensation was far more pleasurable than disturbing, and he was beginning to wish that the quiet blonde would never stop.

"They're beautiful, Ecthel," he heard Ledah murmur into his ear. "As beautiful as you are."

Oddly, he didn't feel irritated at the use of his true-name this time. Perhaps it was just because of the reverence it held in Ledah's whisper.

Turning, he caught the seraph's lips once more, pressing their bodies together as Ledah's hands drifted to the waistband of his winter pants. As soon as he felt the blonde yield, he slipped his tongue into the other angel's mouth, confident after a week's worth of stolen kisses.

Desire was a clenched fist in Ein's gut as Ledah stripped the last of his clothes away. Hands fumbling as he sought the elusive snap that lay somewhere below the blonde seraph's navel, the wingless angel realized in a vague way that he was already hard. When had _that _happened? He didn't know, and come to think of it, he didn't really care. There were other, much more pressing things on his mind at the moment...

_Dear gods, to hell with foreplay, I think I'll just have him here and now, _Ein thought giddily, pressing the now-naked Ledah against the edge of the bed.

"Ecthel..." the blonde whispered--a warning, a promise, a taunt more playful than Ein would've thought his lover capable of.

Reluctantly, Ein pulled back, giving the both of them a chance to breathe as he let his wondering gaze roam freely.

Now that Ledah was out of the frustratingly wholesome acolyte's clothing that usually muffled him head to foot, Ein could see that the pale body still pressed against his was more toned than openly muscular, although there were faint, taut suggestions of strength along the lines of Ledah's abdomen with the slight arch of his back as he leaned against the edge of the mattress. He still wore his rosary; the silver cross on its string of rose-colored, marbled beads lay right below the dip in his collarbones, the tiger's-eye stone at its center glinting in the low light as his ribcage rose and fell with the rhythm of his breath. Obscured by but still visible beneath the sole piece of jewelry was the scar where, as Ein had pieced together, the magus Hector had reached into Ledah's chest cavity to rip out a large part of his spiritual heart. It was a wide, jagged circle shifted a little off-center from the middle of the angel's breast, with a long diagonal line that stretched from his shoulder to his lower ribs running through it. It, too, had the faded, brownish quality of Ein's scars... it would probably never completely fade, either.

Ledah's skin was that perfect near-white all over, his face and hands unmarred by what little time he spent in the daylight. To his amusement, Ein caught sight of what looked like a faint pink mark on the side of his lover's throat--perhaps they hadn't really been as careful with their increasingly adventurous kisses as they'd initially thought. Oh, well. No one seemed to care, although it probably _would _embarrass Ledah a great deal if anyone noticed it. (Ein made a mental note to allow Serene or Rose to catch a glimpse of it the next day.) Letting his line of sight drift lower, Ein examined the rest of his lover's body. Whereas the short coarse hair between his own legs was a near-black version of the soft tumble of blue-brown that was getting in his eyes, Ledah's was more of a warm fawn color, and not quite as thick. Raising an eyebrow, Ein noted that the old saying in Asgard that angels were about as long than their feathers might have some truth to it after all, if Ledah was any example. And the black pinions at the tips of his wings were all somewhere between six and seven inches.

"You're staring," the blonde commented softly, sounding far from displeased.

"Of course I'm staring," Ein replied, closing the distance between them again to nip the side of Ledah's throat. "You're beautiful, and I like to look at beautiful things."

_"Ein," _the blonde protested, sounding somewhere between scandalized and tickled, his voice accompanied by the rustling of feathers as he shifted his wings embarrassedly. Ein took no heed, and continued to kiss at his lover's throat and shoulder. Shifting his left arm to fit supportively behind Ledah's lower back, he slipped them up and onto the mattress at last, lips now grazing the seraph's collarbone as a vague memory of their earlier conversation surfaced in his mind.

_"I'll try to support myself as best I can, but I may not be able to for very long. You'll have to hold me... if I fall under the weight of _both _of us, most of the bones in my wings will be crushed."_

He would have to remember that. As Ledah'd said the previous night, this should be a time of good memories, not pain.

Ein let his lips drift a few more inches down, spreading little kisses and love bites all the way, but then stopped abruptly.

"What...?" Ledah asked hoarsely.

Shifting and edging back a little, Ein pointed to Ledah's rosary. "That," he said flatly. "It's getting in the way. Take it off."

"No."

Ein's eyebrows shot up. "What? But it's gonna get really uncomfortable later..."

"I don't care. This stays on."

Playfully, Ein tapped the tip of his lover's nose. "You listen to what your seme tells you. Off with it, I say!"

Just as playfully, Ledah pushed Ein's intrusive hand away. "I said, no. Don't forget, without me, you'd be _nothing." _Despite the light overtone, the wingless angel could tell that Ledah meant what he was saying.

"Well, if you're going to be that way, then--" Ein pressed back in, kissing along the line of Ledah's shoulder, rising on his knees and edging forward so that he was virtually straddling his lover where the two of them sat, his reach extended to the nape of the other angel's neck.

_"Ein! _Wh-what are you...?" Ledah managed, shivering, a strained laugh escaping him as Ein's lips brushed his back.

As his answer, Ein nipped open the clasp of Ledah's rosary. The string of beads, freed from their position, slipped down the blonde seraph's body, tearing a husky moan from his throat as the delicate chain and pendant trailed down to his hips. Realizing that Ledah evidently wasn't going to do anything about it, Ein rescued the jewelry and cast it in the direction of the bedside table.

"That was dirty," the blonde mumbled.

"Well, when seme says 'off', seme _means _'off'," Ein reasoned, and went back to kissing.

It took him some minutes to get from Ledah's chest to the softer and far more vulnerable flesh of the seraph's belly, and he was _very _aware of the way that his lover was shaking beneath him, his breath hitching every time he exhaled, almost flinching whenever Ein's lips touched his skin. Realizing that this must be another of those sensitive spots that Ledah would probably be very touchy about if they weren't in bed together, Ein came gently, teeth and tongue soft rather than harsh but leaving their mark nonetheless. With a steadying hand on Ledah's hip, he tenderly licked the rim of the blonde's navel, just roughly enough to suggest a thrust.

With a choked moan, Ledah beat the air with his wings, stretching them to their fullest extent. Loose feathers scattered across the sheets, and Ein, coming back up to capture his lover's lips, became aware of a heat and intensity not his own pressed against his body.

His fingers brushed one long black feather, and with a slow smile, he picked it up.

"What are... you doing...?" Ledah managed, leaning heavily against Ein's supporting arm, not taking the initiative to look up himself.

Very slowly, Ein drew the tip of the feather up and down Ledah's side.

The blonde's reaction was instantaneous and dramatic. Wings straining, flesh twitching spasmodically, he cried out, eyes shut tightly, cheeks flushed.

Ein's smile grew. In slow, torturous movements, he continued to trace patterns on Ledah's skin with the feather, roaming from his right to his left, dipping the tip into his navel, even going so far as to flick it along his lover's thighs, between his legs, along the burning shaft, before covering his entire trail in reverse.

_"Ein..." _The pleading tone to Ledah's voice said quite plainly that he couldn't take much more.

Heart pounding in his throat, Ein set the feather aside and pressed their bodies together. No more waiting. The feeling was mutual.

"Ein, wait," Ledah whispered, urgency in his voice.

"...Oh." Cheeks flaming, Ein pulled back temporarily, his breath coming quickly. Preparation. _Duh._ "How should I...?"

Resting his complete weight on the arm Ein had cinched around his waist, Ledah guided his lover's free hand between his legs with both of his own.

"Like this," he said softly, and closed his eyes.

---

Sighing in relief, Rose set down her quill and shook out her aching right hand.

She'd cut it close--altogether _too _close--but she was done, finished at last. The history of Asgard and Riviera that she'd compiled over the years she'd traveled with Ein and Ledah was complete.

Easing back in her chair, she was about to close her eyes when a faint sound from somewhere above caught her attention.

Sitting up and pricking both ears forward, Rose confirmed her guess--it was a cry, sounding almost pained but to _her _hearing, unmistakably pleased.

A slow, almost wicked smile spread across her face.

It was about time, after all.

Not bothering to listen--she'd pick up the loudest of their calls anyway, whether she wanted to or not--Rose curled up in her chair again.

_For this, boys, you're going to get the first look at my book tomorrow... _Smiling, she closed her eyes, resting her head on her left arm. _I suppose things will work out between you two after all..._

---

_"Now," _Ledah half-sobbed, and it was all Ein could do to comply.

Pressing hips to hips, bracing both their bodies with his hands on Ledah's waist, Ein finally, _finally _penetrated his lover.

Ledah's cry was sharp and heartrending, but brief, collapsing into a moan of pleasure before Ein could even begin to wonder if he'd felt any pain. Shuddering with exertion, the dark-haired angel thrust, long and slow.

Wings stretching out again, Ledah let out a second cry, his voice already broken: "Oh _gods... _Ecthel... Ecthel... _Ecthel...!"_

That did it. Ein couldn't hold back anymore.

As their bodies rocked to the rhythm within the both of them, the wingless angel let his free hand trace sharp lines down Ledah's back, tracing up to stroke the delicate tracery of feathers along the inside of his right wing. His vision was starting to haze, and he could barely even think straight anymore, but that didn't matter much anyway. He loved Ledah so _much--_and he'd never thought that being inside him would feel so _good..._

The sharp and sudden set of Ledah's nails on his back, along his scars, made him cry out in shock; the euphoric scratch down his back as the blonde struggled to hold evoked a sharp, aching shiver of melded pleasure and pain.

"Ecthel... _Ecthel... _oh, Ecthel..."

Ein would never object to Ledah's calling him by that name again. It sounded almost like the clarion bells of Asgard now, the promise within the word eclipsed entirely by fevered, helpless prayer.

Feeling hot lances of agony shoot through his body, Ein trembled, swore, and came.

As he sensed the hot rush into him, Ledah let out a low, exhausted moan and let go, the hot coil tightly wound in his lower belly unraveling at long last.

After a few moments of blank, mindless, climactic release, Ein withdrew, feeling ready to lie down and sleep for hours, or at least until the somnolent effects of resolution let him alone.

However, Ledah was still in his arms, trembling slightly but otherwise unmoving.

"Ein..." he whispered, voice barely audible. "I... I can't... please..."

Understanding what the seraph meant, Ein gently laid his lover down in the wreckage of the bedclothes, carefully placing him on his side, with his wings outstretched behind him.

"I love you," he murmured, stroking Ledah's ragged hair. "Oh, gods, I love you."

Lying down at his lover's side, Ein closed his eyes, and the blackness of exhaustion claimed him.

---

NEXT TIME: Christmas day is here at last. A time of beginnings and of endings, of endless gifts between friends and lovers. And Ledah is ready to lay the past to rest with a very special memorial service to those lost two years ago.

Next chapter'll be the last one. Then there's just the epilogue/author's notes to deal with... hehehe, I had so much fun writing this last scene XD


	9. Christmas

A Very Riviera Christmas

DISCLAIMER: Don't own Riviera, but my CG collection and voice clips are -almost- full. I'm just missing the Cierra ending stuff. :3 Oh yeah, and though Thalia the Tiger gave me some ideas for that lemon scene last chapter, it still belongs ENTIRELY to me. (laughs evilly)

Author's Note: Hi guys, me again! XD XD Well then, how'd you like the promised scene? The last chapter was fourteen pages long in all, and the lemon took up the last five. XD Hehehehehe. Yes, I am possibly the world's biggest pervert, but that _was _important to the story, or I wouldn't have included it. I'd just have put up some separate lemon thing, although I would've had to construct some sort of plot around it. Plotless lemons that are just basically scenes of characters having sex with little to no explanation irk me. :x Bleh. Anyway, I really want to know how I did. There were a few minor redundancies and things, but I'm too lazy to go back and fix 'em unless they _really _bothered my readers, and besides, I really do want your input as to what you think worked and what you think didn't. However, you will still be kind, because otherwise I will sic Envy on you.

Envy: Meh?

Me: Yes, I will. And knowing Envy, he'll probably have Lust or Wrath or somebody tagging along with him, and they will absolutely p0wn your lame 4ss. So there, nyeh. I worked _hard _on that chapter! It's important, and it helps define the bounds of Ein and Ledah's relationship, and, and... okay, dammit, it was just plain _fun _to write and I hope it's making the rabid fangirls happy! So I wanna hear what you think!

I've also been working hard on my Riviera game; I've finished both the Fia and Serene endings while writing the past few chapters. The first time I fought Malice, I beat her with Rose. XD (If you don't know how to get the Rose attack--FYI, you need the Fire Emblem for Ein; instead of another Katon-no-jutsu attack, he learns a technique to summon Rose as a level-3 OS. There are two Ein voice clips for it, if you're trying to complete your voice collection. And if you win the battle with it, you get to hear the third of Rose's elusive quotes: "You're such a slave-driver." :D cute!) It was fun, but the end of Riviera always leaves me depressed... it's largely because the music they play ("Time Has Passed") is the same clip that's used during the scene where Ledah dies, which gives the end a somewhat melancholy feel that doesn't quite fit the cute, happy tone of the scenes with the girls. I need a hug... XP that stupid Yggdrasil scene always makes me cry. (kicks Sting)

Anyway, we've only got this chapter and the epilogue left in the story, unless the little curveball I'm throwing here decides to draw stuff out longer. No, there will not be any more lemons, nor will there be uber-limey things. Yes there will probably be at least one more sex scene, but as it's not quite as important, it won't be nearly as graphic and will be far, far shorter. XP Don't like it, oh well.

One of the more hidden sides to Ledah will be exposed in this chapter; readers may not have noticed too much change in him because he usually does keep his slightly apathic defenses up. However, on the inside, he's actually _quite _different--and you will see how easy it now is to win his sympathies, even if you're one of the more unlikely people to do so.

Going more into that--friend and fellow author Thalia and I have come to the conclusion that whatever it is that an angel has to give up to achieve Grim Angel status is emblematic of the person they are. Think about it--when not angsting about his duties, Ein is a really carefree and happy spirit; the wings he lost were sort of a symbol of his former lifestyle. Malice (who did sacrifice her future, in her own way), went into the Grim Angel trial with her past in shreds and her life a ruin--the hope that things would be better was probably all that carried her forward. And our cold and uncaring Ledah, therefore, was most likely a complete and total sweetheart--loving, accepting, and far more in touch with his own emotions than most guys usually get. He's still quiet and passive, but you'll see what I mean about the bleeding-heart bit soon enough...

Once again, if you're enjoying this fic, go check out my others, "Diary" and "Adieu". :3 I worked hard on them, too, and they're also good. I'm especially proud of the sweet, angsty way "Adieu" turned out... and besides, it's the only fic out there that DOES have official information on parts of the Grim Angel trial. So there.

Readers familiar with some of my other works probably looked at the description of Ledah's tragic love life prior to meeting Ein and went "wow, no history of rape? I'm shocked", knowing my reputation. XP Feh. There is a reason for that--Ledah's personality type is _completely _wrong for that kind of thing. For me to have made a character a rape victim (which I have done to quite a few... -sweatdrop-) they need to have either the helpless, childish innocence and naïveté that would make them become tragic, shy, and introverted and develop the tendency to blame themselves, or a prickly side and the fear and need to cover it up or protect themselves that would give them a cold, cruel, and sadistic outer shell. While Ledah is sweet, quiet, and generally fairly submissive about sex, he also has the kind of maturity that would either help him overcome that kind of trauma largely on his own or lock him so deeply into the cycle of pain and guilt that Ein wouldn't have been able to reach him. He's gone through pain, but it's a different kind of pain (having been used by someone he loved, the trauma of having his heart ripped out) that's actually conducive to his relationship with Ein :3. I spend a lot of time thinking about this, you know. I needed him to become dependent without being too clingy or OOC.

Besides, if there was really any one character in Riviera who was likely to have had a history of sexual abuse, I'd say it'd be Malice, for the reasons described above. So, there ya go.

And a side note on the "spiritual heart" thing--I'm going on the principle used in a number of works (including Kingdom Hearts) that a living being has four central parts: the body, the mind, the heart, and the soul. The body is the exterior, with the greatest contact with the outside world; the mind is the center of thought and decision; the heart is the source of emotion, intuition, and instinct; and the soul is the part on the inside, which is what's really _you. _The heart (located at about the same area as the heart muscle that directs the circulatory system) is often inextricably tied to the soul; if someone loses their heart entirely, then their soul often fades out of existence or enters a sort of coma-like state. Ledah's heart was extensively damaged rather than destroyed; but because emotion is such a huge part of it, his emotional capabilities couldn't be effectively "removed" without other parts of his heart undergoing damage as well, including the instinctive ability to tell right from wrong (which may be why it was so easy for him to be manipulated by Hector). Most of this is conjecture, but once again, Thalia and I have allowed the theory to bounce off each other, and it seems to work, so I adopted the idea for the fanfic.

Okkkk, I think I'd better say it right now: The use of feathers as an aphrodesiac _was not my idea. _Thalia actually came up with it, surprisingly, although she's dead-set against Ledah/Ein. Long story there... mostly an insane late-night discussion during a sleepover when she was very very tired and so susceptible to my incessant poking... but the main point is, not mine, so kudos to Thalia for such a good idea. XD

I finally have a reason that this wonderful pairing is listed opposite to the dominance rule! It's because the abbreviated version of the pairing, LxE, has to be listed that way because ExL means Ein/Lina! See, I _knew _there was a reason. Just didn't quite know what it actually was, hehehe. :3

Oh, and just as one final note... umm, just for reference, Megaolix, I'm a girl. Always have been, always will be. Come on, how many _guys _do you know who happen to be yaoi fiends?

End of author's note! (nyu) Wow, this was a long one.

Envy: See? We did tell you.

Me: Oh, shut up. Story now.

---

Slowly, Ein came awake, opening his eyes to stare at the ceiling with a soft, reluctant moan. It was morning, and the only thing he was really aware of was the strong dislike of the idea of having to get up. It might've been just that dislike, but the sheets seemed softer this morning, warmer in some way.

Even more slowly, the memories of the past night began to filter back in.

Edging himself up on his elbows, Ein looked to his right. Yup. Ledah was lying there, still sleeping deeply, in exactly the same position Ein had gently arranged him in after realizing that his lover was too weak to move on his own. If the wingless angel had been any more awake, he would've had to sit on his hands to keep himself from reaching out and running his fingers down the soft bare skin on his lover's side.

Sighing, Ein levered himself into a sitting position, then attempted to rub sleep out of his eyes. With a glance out the window, he was able to vaguely determine that it was some time between late morning and noon; he wasn't nearly as adept as guessing the time from the sun's position as Ledah. He'd have to get up soon, like it or not.

_Oh, gods, last night was... it was... _amazing _is the only word I can come up with. Even now, I still feel tired, and I can't believe that Ledah's actually still sleeping... it took so much out of us, but it was still so... so perfect... _Looking himself over, Ein realized something else. _...I really need a bath... I've still got old sweat and _gods _only know what else all over me. I suppose that like everything else, this has its drawbacks..._

Sparing a glance towards his lover, Ein smiled to himself. _...But they aren't very large ones, considering..._

Carefully as he could manage, the wingless angel slid off the side of the bed, padding softly over the floorboards as he collected his various items of clothing and dumped them, as well as Ledah's discarded robes, in the laundry basket near the door.

Pulling out a new outfit--this one with a long-sleeved undershirt, as the Christmas gathering would be taking place in the town hall--Ein padded down the stairs even more quietly. He didn't want to mess up his fresh clothes, and the washroom was downstairs--he just prayed that none of the girls would be awake or aware enough to see him.

Luck was with him. It looked as though Lina, Fia, and the others were out. Just in case, however, Ein still tiptoed on his way to the old white tub in the back room.

Setting down his clothes and locking the door behind him, Ein headed over to the tap at the side of the wall. Carefully turning it, he filled the wooden basin set there, shut the water off, and dumped it into the tub, repeating the process until the ancient marble hollow was full enough for him to get in.

Immersing himself in the water, Ein winced. It wasn't as though it was cold--he'd had the water set to its fullest, which in winter meant it was lukewarm (the pipes ran beneath the freezing ground, and even the boiler in the Magic Guild couldn't manage to keep it hot for very long in these conditions)--but rather, he'd forgotten the damage done the previous night when Ledah had raked his back. As soon as they were below the water, the scratch marks started to sting.

Despite the pain, Ein decided he could forgive his lover for the vehemence of his throes. If the act itself--and the task of holding Ledah off the mattress, which had been considerably harder than he'd expected--hadn't taken so much of his energy, he probably would've done the same. He was getting to understand why people described orgasm as a state of complete ecstasy--the pleasure had completely driven rational thought from his mind. The soft whispers and cries of his name, the tender helplessness of the other angel in his arms, and the pure wonder in the fact that two wholly separate people, if only for a moment, could become almost like one were well worth a little annoyance.

Ein let his thoughts drift and tried to ignore the incessant stinging in his back as he scrubbed himself free of sweat and the crusted traces of semen across his body. He wanted to take his time; maybe that way, everyone would be back by the time he was done and he'd be able to figure out what they were supposed to be doing...

As soon as he realized that the water was starting to go cool, the wingless angel minced his way out of the tub and pulled the plug in its floor that would allow the water to drain into the soil below. Once that was done, Ein grabbed a towel and vigorously dried himself off, shivering all the while and trying to ignore the protests of his still-sore muscles. As soon as he was free of water, he slipped back into loincloth, pants, undershirt, and jacket, hoping that warmth would return to his body soon.

Hanging the towel back up, Ein unlocked the door and headed out.

As he headed back over to the stairs, he heard the front door creak and turned. It was Rose.

"Well, well, look who's finally awake!" the former familiar exclaimed, planting her gloved fists on her hips. "We've been waiting long enough--it's almost noon. And that's when the gift-opening's going to start. Nobody will get to theirs until you come, and if you're late, I think Lina just may strangle us all. Where's Ledah, anyway? The two of you need to get your lazy butts down here."

Ein shrugged. "I think he's still asleep."

Rose stared. "Oh my _gawd. _Even with the day he decided to take a nap in the big chair, Ledah _never _sleeps in _this _late! Go wake him up! You never know if something's really wrong!"

Ein winced. "Okay, okay..." Chastised, he headed back up the stairs.

_...Yeah, he's still sleeping. _Reluctantly, Ein sat down on his side of the bed, casting around for some way to wake his lover up. After a moment's search, his gaze lit on one of the many feathers Ledah had shed over the course of the night.

Somewhat hesitantly, Ein set the feather's soft tip to his lover's side and twitched it. No response. Frowning, he twitched it again, drawing it across a greater range of skin.

Finally, a reaction--letting out a tiny groan of protest, Ledah shifted slightly, curling just a fraction closer in the mess of the sheets.

Ein's heart melted. Leaning down, he gently pressed his lips to Ledah's, staying there until he felt the blonde begin to respond to his touch.

"It's past time to wake up, hon," he murmured. "You have to get up and get dressed now."

"...Can't..." Ledah managed.

"I'm sorry, but we do _have _to..." Tenderly, Ein caressed Ledah's wild golden tresses, which spread unevenly along the bedsheets. "It's Christmas morning, remember? Lina's rabidly awaiting our arrival so she can start tearing her presents open."

Ledah groaned, opening his eyes the barest slit, and visibly tried to get up. While he was able to shift his limbs, he didn't seem capable of resting any weight on them; though he strained to raise his body even an inch off the mattress, nothing happened.

"It's... not a matter of... _having _to," the seraph said softly. "I _can't."_

Ein grimaced. "Is there anything I can do...? If you're in pain..."

"...No..." Ledah let out a long, exhausted sigh. "I'm too drained... I just... don't have the energy... that's all. I just need a little more time... just a little more..."

"Sorry, Ledah," the wingless angel murmured, reaching out to touch his lover's cheek. "It's my fault you're like this..."

The fair-haired seraphim gave him a stern look, carmine eyes hard and sharp. "I don't want to hear you talk like that, Ecthel. I would not give up last night for the world, do you understand?"

Face flushing, Ein nodded and smiled. "Y..yeah..." Lovingly, he tousled Ledah's hair. "Now, get some rest, okay? The sooner you're feeling better, the less chance there is of Lina going on a rampage."

"... ..." Although Ledah didn't give any spoken reply, he smiled back, closing his eyes again.

Heading back downstairs, Ein made a face at Rose. "Is there anything you can think of to let us stall for time...? Ledah's in kind of a delicate state right now..."

The former familiar groaned, running a hand through her short black hair. "Don't tell me that last night was Ledah's first time? Jeez, Ein! I'd think that even _you _would know that you need to be careful with someone in that condition..."

Ein, who'd been staring dumbfounded, managed to grumble out an answer, face blazing crimson. "No, it wasn't. Yes, I was careful. And how the _hell _do you seem to know _everything _about my sex life!"

Rose shrugged. "I was still awake proofreading, as compared to everyone else. You two were pretty loud, you know--I could still hear you through the ceiling and two closed doors." The tip of her tail twitched slightly. "It's not like I _meant _to eavesdrop or anything."

"Suuuuure ya didn't," Ein said flatly, giving her a sidelong glare. "Ledah told me himself that all he really needs is a little more rest. And I don't hear you volunteering any brilliant ideas about the Lina situation."

"Well..." Making a face, Rose spread her hands. "I suppose we could let her start a little early, and the rest of the children as well. The rest of us can wait, but I dunno... this won't buy you much time. I'd say fifteen minutes to half an hour, tops."

Ein headslumped. "Fine, fine. Whatever it takes. I'm just hoping that Ledah will be able to drag himself out of bed by then... he didn't seem to be doing too well there..."

"You and me both," Rose agreed, ears flattened. "Well, good luck, you two. And try not to get him in this state the next time you decide you wanna have a little 'fun'. It's a pain in the arse." With that, she headed out, closing the door behind her.

With only a long, drawn-out sigh, Ein sat down at the table and prepared to wait.

---

Lina had just finished squealing over Cierra's gift to her, a bow with a string that would never warp or break, when the two angels walked in.

While most were just happy that Ein and Ledah had finally put in their appearance, Rose noticed that the blonde seraph seemed to be leaning fairly heavily on his lover under the premise of a walking half-embrace. Ein was murmuring something that even her sensitive cat's ears couldn't detect; from the worried expression on his face, it was probably some kind of apology for having to make Ledah go through the effort of walking so early. As a response, the robe-clad angel simply shook his head with a wry smile and softly kissed Ein's cheek.

"PRESENT TIME!" Lina shrieked, jumping up and down.

Rose rolled her eyes. That girl would probably always act at least five years too young for her age, it seemed.

"Okay, okay..." Still carefully maneuvering to allow for Ledah's weakness, Ein gently tugged his lover over to the series of cushions around one side of the massive pine tree hauled in from the forests and sat them both down. "As you've gotten so impatient, Lina, we'll deal with yours first."

"YAY!"

"Since I see you've already got it in front of you, open that one first," the wingless angel continued. "Almost everyone's presents are from both of us, but Lina has two. This is the less-important one."

Barely even listening, the carrot-top tore the scratchy burlap off the lumpy package she'd been holding. Finished, she stared at her gift in pure delight. It was a package containing various kinds of dried fruits, many of which the little archer had never even seen before.

Grinning at his young friend's response, Ein explained. "On our way back, Rose spotted those in a shop in a town we were passing through, and it was just too perfect to pass up. Hope you like 'em--a lot of these have been imported from all corners of Midgard."

Nodding, Ledah removed a dark green scroll-case from the underside of his cloak, passing it to Ein, who then gave it to Lina. "This, too... although the actual gift will most likely have to wait until you're a little older."

Looking somewhat puzzled, Lina removed the top of the case and carefully pulled out a worn, rolled sheaf of parchment, which she removed with equal care. Seeing what was inscribed upon it, the young girl gasped.

"What is it? Lemme see," Serene commanded, edging so that she could peek over her friend's shoulder. "What the... a map...?"

Ledah nodded. "This map shows the ancient trail to Ælfheim, the birthplace of your race, which was one of the progenitors of today's Sprites. Unless I'm quite mistaken, you have a great deal of Ælf blood, Lina--it would explain your deep love for the fruit of the earth, as well as your natural skill at archery, certainly."

"That's not all," Ein added. "Ælfheim is an abandoned city of a very ancient, very magical people. There are said to be a lot of undiscovered treasures and artifacts there, but no one has ever been able to reach the citadel before. There are too many traps, too many wards against those without any Ælf blood--and too many monsters."

"You, as well as those of the Pixia race, have just enough Ælf heritage to get through those wards," Ledah stated, starting to smile. "And as for the monsters... well, I highly doubt that they would be able to stand for very long against one of the heroes who helped to save Riviera."

Lina stared at the two angels in open wonder. "How... where... did you...?"

"The man who healed my heart was a scholar as well as a doctor," Ledah explained. "Ein and I found this in his library. He told us that we were free to take it, as he no longer required it." His expression sobered, and concern drifted into his deep carmine eyes. "But, Lina, understand this: A quest such as this one is perilous, and will require a great deal of preparation. You will need at least one person to go with you. So... the only thing we ask of you in return is that you wait to embark on your journey until you pass your fifteenth birthday."

Lina nodded, still dumbstruck.

"Good. You're our friend--we don't want anything bad to happen to you," Ein told her, smiling.

"Th..thank you...!" Light brown eyes positively glowing with joy, Lina ran up and threw her arms around both angels, hugging them tightly.

"Anytime," Ein replied, his smile becoming a grin. "Although this is going to be one hard gift to top next year..."

"I'm sure we'll be able to come up with _something," _Ledah said vaguely.

"Okay, it's your turn now!" Lina announced. Beaming, she held out a velvet pouch to Ein.

"What's this?" Curious, Ein opened it, drawing out a long string of marbled blue beads on a gold chain, with a golden cross on one end. Expression becoming suspicious, he turned to the girl. "Hey... isn't this...?"

"Yep!" the bouncy archer replied. "I got Chappi to fix it after you left!"

"What the...?" Serene began incredulously. "What the heck is _that?"_

"If I'm not gravely mistaken, this would be Ein's rosary," Ledah told her, sounding amused. "Like mine, it was a gift from the Seven Magi. All Grim Angels are authorized to carry one... they hold angelic power, and we generally tap into their strengths in battle. Ein's was broken during the fight with Aghart two years ago."

"Yeah, it is..." Laughing awkwardly, Ein slipped the pendant over his head. "Thanks, Lina!"

"These were worn by Balder's Grim Angel guard, the Death Bring Angelix, in Ragnarok," Ledah explained to Serene, who looked fascinated. "Like our Diviners, which are forged in the image of sacred weapons such as Longinus and Fanelia, they're holdovers from ancient times... ways that the Magi held on to the customs of old. You wouldn't think it, but they tend to be quite nostalgic... after all, each one of them is over a thousand years old."

"And this one's for you," Lina announced, holding out a second velvet pouch to the blonde.

Wordlessly accepting the archer's offering, Ledah pulled the pouch open, and drew out a delicate chain with a bemused expression. The look on his face quickly became shock as the pendant attached turned out to be a fragile golden bell, adorned with wings on either side of the ring through which its chain was threaded.

"Well?" Lina asked cheerfully as Ledah closed his grip around the bell, hands shaking.

"This... this is..." he began, his voice reduced to a husky whisper. "I thought I lost this _years _ago... Lina, where did you...?"

Ein blinked, raising his eyebrows. "Hey, isn't that... the bell I found in Heaven's Gate...?"

"I found it," the little archer announced proudly. "It's important, right?"

Ledah smiled, holding the little bell to his chest, eyes overbright in the midday light. "Yes... yes! This bell is very, very precious to me. ...Do... you want to know why...?"

Lina nodded enthusiastically.

Ledah's smile grew, trembling slightly. "Because... Ein gave this to me, years ago..."

"It's an accessory used by angels," Rose supplied. "They consider them to be powerful good-luck charms. That one just dropped out of the sky as the three of us were traveling Heaven's Gate to enter Riviera for the first time."

"I offered it to Rose, but she seemed to consider it demeaning, so I gave it to Ledah instead," Ein continued, laughing now. "I didn't really think I needed luck then, since I had friends like them." Watching Ledah slip the chain over his head, he went on. "These were really popular among girls in Asgard around the time the initial Grim Angel trials took place... I seem to recall that Malice used to have a silver one."

"Fell from the sky..." Fia murmured, her brows knitting.

"Do you suppose...?" Cierra thought out loud, also seeming concerned.

"It probably isn't," the healer said softly, "but still..."

"Hm? You say somethin', Fia?" Serene asked, blinking.

"Oh... nothing, nothing." She smiled. "Anyway... what next, then?"

_"I _think it's your turn now," Ein said decisively.

Instantly, Fia went crimson. "Y-you didn't have to..."

"C'mon, do you really think we could've gone through all the trouble to get gifts for everybody else, and then neglect you?" the wingless angel pointed out. "Fi_a. _You're our friend! It's our _job _to spoil you, same as we do everyone else here!"

The green-eyed healer mumbled something too indistinct for anyone to hear, still red-faced.

"Go on, get yours and open it, Fia!" Lina cheered.

Fia mumbled desperately, but picked up the oblong box fastened with twine that had her name marked on it. Very carefully, she undid the binding strings and lifted off the lid, then gasped in surprise and delight.

Lying inside the box was a beautiful, fragile rapier. It was made in the style of the ancient fencing foils used in the age of gods and demons, and from a pair of ivy leaves skillfully wrought with silver sprang a delicate spiral of fine-spun copper that encircled the fine blade to its tip.

"It's _wonderful!" _the fencer cried, removing the weapon from its encasings with the utmost care. "Oh, _Ein! _How did you get this?"

"Ledah would know more about it than me, it was his idea," Ein said modestly.

As Fia stared in open wonder, Ledah explained, a crooked smile on his face. "There are certain lands to the far, far east that have not known war since the days of Ragnarok. There, fighting is an art, not a necessity, so weapons are generally made far more extravagantly than in Asgard or Riviera. This rapier was meant as a purification aid and a piece of metalworking, not a tool to fight with. As a priestess-in-training… I thought you would appreciate something like it."

"And I thought he was perfectly right when he brought it up in the shop… although it blew one huge hole in our wallet for the rest of the trip," Ein said ruefully.

"Don't brag about how expensive it was, you idiot, that's not the point," Rose said with a scowl. But Fia was looking at the two of them with tears of joy in her eyes.

"Oh… oh… _oh!" _Setting the beautiful weapon back in the box, Fia launched herself at Ein and Ledah, throwing her arms around both of them. "I can't thank you _enough!"_

"Like I said, it's no big deal," Ein managed, blushing badly. "We both owe you our lives, Fia. It'd feel cheap if we didn't spend time getting something nice for you on a holiday."

"Now it's your turn," Lina chirped.

"I… I already gave Ein and Ledah their gift," Fia murmured, giving Ein a significant look (as if he'd forget the little box that sat like a lead weight in his pocket!). "Please… let's go on to someone else."

Although Ledah shot a somewhat confused look at Ein and the other girls raised their eyebrows at each other, Ein nodded. "Sure. That sounds good to me." With a wide grin, he jabbed his forefinger into the huddled semicircle of his friends. "And our next victim is… you, Serene!"

"Wha--hey, what do you mean, _victim?" _the last Arc asked indignantly, her entire face going crimson. "Suddenly I'm worried about opening any of these…"

"We didn't get you anything like _that," _Ein clarified. "Your presents are a little smaller, so there's more of them."

Still giving Ein a dubious look, Serene tore the wrapping off the box in her lap, dug in the wood shavings inside it, and pulled out…

"A… book?" she said, quite plainly confused.

"We know how most ordinary books bore you, but I believe that this one will hold your interest," Ledah said with a smile. "It's a series of epic poems from all over the world… a few are even from your own clan of Sprites, the Arcs."

Seeing that Serene was now eyeing the book with upraised eyebrows and an intrigued expression, Ein grinned. "That's not all, though. Keep looking."

Obediently, Serene went back into the shavings, this time digging out what looked like a small, fist-sized white stone.

"You're not just contributing something out of your rock collection, are you, Ein?" Rose asked mildly, sounding a little amused.

"No, no! …This is a _whetstone, _Rose," Ein clarified. "See the seal on the bottom? It's a really high-quality one, too. Diviners never lose their edge, but I've dealt with enough swords in my time that I know how much of a pain it is when they start to dull. This one's guaranteed to make even the worst piece of crap of a weapon hold its edge."

"Nice, Ein," Serene said appreciatively.

"One more," Ledah told her. "And this last one is from me."

Curiously, the last Arc dug in the shavings a third time. What she pulled out made her burst out laughing: It was a fan, its folds formed of woven-together black feathers instead of paper or fabric--pinions formed its outer fold, with soft, fluffy down feathers at its base.

"I took your request two weeks ago to heart," Ledah said simply. "Although, I did have help from Soala on this one."

"Who'd expect a gag gift like _that _out of _you?" _Serene managed, wiping away tears of hysteria. "You _must _be getting your emotions back, to pull this."

"Oh, but it has practical uses, too," Ledah told her. "May I?"

Nodding, Serene passed the folded fan to him, base-first. Standing, Ledah unfolded the fan with a snap and slashed it through the air. There was a white-gray flash like light on a blade, and the tip of one of the large pine tree next to them's branches dropped to the ground.

Handing the fan back to the surprised Arc, Ledah explained. "The ribs of this fan are steel blades, enchanted to keep sharp. You can use this if you ever need to carry a concealed weapon with you--no one would suspect a lady's fan."

"Cool," Serene said appreciatively. "Okay, boys--your turn!"

"Should _we _start being afraid now?" Ein murmured, laughing.

"Oh, shut up," Serene shot back. Digging in her pocket, she held something out to Ein.

"What's this?" Taking it, he held it up. "A pendant?"

"It's a good-luck charm," she muttered, looking evasively away. "See the insignia? It's an old Arc spell for good health. …'Cause I think you're sick of excitement now, what with everything that happened two years ago."

"Thanks! I'll be sure to keep it around," Ein said, grinning, as he slipped it over his own head, next to his now-repaired rosary.

"And, for _you…" _Reaching beneath the tree, Serene dug out a huge, heavy, musty old book and dumped it in Ledah's lap. "Personally, I think it's the driest, most boring and obnoxious book in the world… but knowing you, you're gonna love it. It's a history of the Arcs that was written by some of my own people, before… everything that happened."

Ledah didn't say anything, but the way his eyes had lit up told the story well enough.

"Weirdo," Serene laughed.

"Cierra, it's your turn now," Ein said cheerfully. "We sorta took a leaf out of Serene's book--"

"--but we think you'll enjoy it, all the same," Ledah finished, holding out two large tomes to the scarlet witch.

"They're books on the angelic spells and history of Asgard, and no, you can't get them anywhere here," Ein told her.

Cierra squealed and hugged both books. "Thank you sooooooo much," she gushed happily. After about a minute of enthusiastic squeaking, she grinned and pushed a large wooden crate towards them. "My present is for both of you… and I hope you'll get some… _enjoyment _out of these when you decide to try them out."

Exchanging mildly worried looks, Ein and Ledah levered the lid off together, then stared.

The crate was packed with candles of various scents and colors; they were grouped in dozens, held together by twine, marked by tags that had words like "transcendence", "rapture", and "euphoria" on them. In the three-inch crack between the candle packs and the side of the wooden box lay a few carefully hand-labeled clear bottles of lightly colored liquid.

Pulling one bottle out, Ein read the inscription to himself. _"Gently warming massage gel… mild solution to be rubbed directly into the skin; should begin to heat promptly on contact. Will also prevent you and your partner from feeling any discomfort…" Okay, what the…?_

Seeing the distinctly embarrassed looks on the boys' faces, Rose scooted over to Ein's side. "What is it? Lemme see!" Despite the wingless angel's attempt at pulling the bottle away, Rose got a clear enough view of it to get the general gist, and burst out laughing.

"Oh my _gaaawwwwd!" _she managed, hunched over with a hand on her stomach as her entire body shook in her spasmodic fit of hilarity. "Cierra, you got them _lubes?"_

"And scented candles," the scarlet witch announced cheerfully. "I made them myself!"

"What's a lube?" Lina wanted to know.

"You'll understand when you get older," Fia said meekly.

"They're even flavored, if that's what you're into," Cierra told them, beaming.

"Too much information," Serene groaned, looking disturbed and clapping her hands firmly over her ears.

"Talk about support," Ein managed, laughing awkwardly and rubbing Ledah's shoulder supportively; the blonde had gone scarlet-faced and silent as soon as Rose had started. "Um… thanks, I think."

"You'll have to tell me what you think of them," Cierra told them. "I put a lot of work into these, and I'd like to know how they turned out!"

"Uh… sure…" Ein said with a nod, putting the bottle away and sliding the crate's lid back over its contents. "It's your turn now, Rose."

Taking a deep breath and shaking his head as if to clear it, Ledah spoke. "Unfortunately, we didn't have as much time to search for your gifts, but we hope you'll like these anyway…"

With a mild grin, Ein held out a small inkpot to his old friend. "This is very _special _ink that I'd love to see you writing with sometime."

"And the catch is…?" Rose asked, one eyebrow upraised. "Come on now, I'll find out sooner or later, you know."

"It changes color as you write," Ein announced. "You'll have no idea of knowing what it'll turn out as. That's what makes it fun!"

Wincing slightly, Ledah took hold of a loose pinion on his right wing, carefully yanked it out, and handed it to Rose. "From me… you get a lifetime supply of writing quills. You seem to have liked using the last one you picked up, at least."

Grinning, Rose took the feather. "Sure, sure. Now… my present is for _all _of you." Taking a deep breath, she held out her book. "It's finished, finally. And as promised, you're all gonna get a chance to read it. But…" Smiling, she pressed it into Ein's hands. "You get first dibs, Ein. After all… it is dedicated to you, you know."

As he held the product of his former familiar's past two years of toil, Ein realized that he had no idea what he was supposed to say.

"FOOD TIME!" Lina shrieked, and ran off to the tables bedecked with the breakfast Fia and so many others had labored over.

As Rose grinned at him, Ein thought that perhaps his silence and Lina's interjection summed it up perfectly.

---

Two full hours later, Ein and Ledah headed out of the hall, hand in hand, enveloped in personal silence. Squeezing his lover's hand, Ein steered the two of them down to a more secluded section of the snowy walkways.

"I didn't forget you back there, you know," he murmured, staring mischievously up into Ledah's beautiful crimson eyes. "I just wanted to give you _your _Christmas present in private."

"Nor I you," Ledah murmured. "My delay was for the same reason… but you first."

Drawing and releasing a short breath, Ein dug into his pocket, feeling his hand close around the box. "Fia helped me out a lot with this, just so you know. You wouldn't be getting this if it weren't for her… we owe her a lot, Ledah."

"I know." From his eyes, the wingless angel could see that his lover _did _know… perhaps more than Ein himself did.

"But…" Taking out the box and passing it from hand to hand nervously, Ein went on. "Ledah, I… I've lived most of my life with you. I love you. I can't imagine living the rest of my life _without _you. So I…" Words deserting him, Ein simply opened the box and held it out to Ledah, watching for the other angel's reaction.

Ledah gasped openly and stared in wide-eyed wonder. "Ein, this…" Trembling, he reached out with his right hand, seeming almost afraid to touch the ring within. "For me…?" he asked shyly, meeting Ein's gaze with a delicate pink flush across his cheeks.

"Of course for you," Ein replied. "I love you. I want to be with you… _forever. _Okay?"

"Okay…" Ledah said softly, his blush deepening to red.

Taking the ring out of the box, Ein slipped it onto Ledah's right ring finger, clasping his lover's hand in both of his own. _"Forever," _he whispered, as if to seal the covenant between them.

"Oh, _Ein…" _Overcome, the two of them held each other tightly, clinging desperately for an unknown length of time that could have been from minutes to hours long.

"Ein, Ecthel, dearest…" Shaking his head, Ledah pulled back at last. "You've done so much for me over these past two years. I owe you my life, my heart, my happiness… _everything. _I… I have no fancy, expensive gifts to give you, nor can I even help you reclaim your greatest loss." Without warning, Ein felt Ledah's gentle hands on his back, right along his still-vivid scars. "But there is _one_ thing I can do."

Before Ein realized what was going on, Ledah had slipped an arm beneath his lover's legs and flipped the younger angel bridal-style into his arms. Holding Ein tightly, he murmured "Hold on" and beat his wings heavily, and then the ground was rushing away from them and the old sweet lurch of excitement ran through Ein's abdomen, the sensation he'd almost forgotten…

Just like that, Ledah was gently releasing his hold, and the two of them gently set down on one of Elendia's many rooftops, still clasping each other's hands.

"I cannot give you back your wings, but I can give you mine. You will know flight again, my wingless angel, my Ecthel. Fly with me, beloved. Ask me whenever you have the need to feel the sky, and I will take you wherever you need to go. This I swear to you on this promise ring, and on my own heart."

Knowing there was nothing he could say, Ein simply leaned towards Ledah and kissed him long and sweet, holding the other angel tightly and letting his passion convey his gratitude.

When they came apart, Ledah swept Ein into his arms again and carried him down to earth again in a slow and graceful glide.

"I can't thank you enough," he whispered.

"Nor can I," Ledah replied with a smile, gently kissing Ein's forehead. They stood in silence for a moment; then Ein squeezed Ledah's hand and began again.

"After we drag all our stuff back to the house, I'm going back to help pick up the hall, okay? And no, you're not coming with me. You've had more than enough excitement for one day. Go back upstairs and get some _rest, _Ledah-my-lovely."

Knowing better than to argue, the blonde only smiled. "I know. I will. Don't worry."

---

When Ein finally made his way back up to his and Ledah's room at about 4 in the afternoon, he couldn't have been more shocked at what he saw.

"L-Ledah? What the… what the hell are you _doing?"_

The blonde looked up. He was lounging on the bed, lying on his side with his head propped on the heel of his right hand and his wings folded behind him. He was also stark naked.

"Waiting for you," Ledah said softly, his voice a dark purr as he sat slowly, giving his lover full view of the torsion in his waist as he did so.

Ein swallowed hard. "Y-yeah, I can see that, but…" Self-consciously, he closed the door behind him, locking it even as his hands trembled on the bolt.

Ledah stood, walking slowly over to Ein, and put his arms around the other angel's body, beginning to gently tug him towards the bed.

"Are you _sure, _Ledah? I mean… after last time…" Ein said helplessly, although he didn't resist.

"All I know is that I need you," the blonde murmured, slipping off Ein's long jacket even as he brought their lips together.

Coming up for air, Ein grimaced. "You just want to try out our new toys, don't you."

"…Maybe."

Seeing the bottle of gel already sitting on the sheets, Ein rolled his eyes and held out his hand. "Give it here."

As Cierra's labels claimed, Ein did feel the skin of his palms start to heat up slightly as soon as he'd dumped a blob of gel onto each. But before he could let it start to set and sink in, he beckoned to Ledah, then ran his hands slowly over his lover's sides, spreading it over the other angel's body instead.

Maybe it was just that it was an excuse to touch his lover; maybe it was the soft warmth that spread between them as the gel began to work. But there was just something… something about this primal tenderness that Ein instantly took to. After covering Ledah's sides, back, and chest in a thin layer of Cierra's carefully prepared elixir, Ein took still more of the stuff to spread as he ran his right hand firmly down the taut contours of Ledah's belly. Prepared for his lover's tiny wince and hiss, he slipped his left arm around the blonde's back and murmured softly to him, even as he kept the slow steady movement of his hand going, sliding along Ledah's right thigh and then between his legs.

Ledah's light grip became fierce, his breath uneven; he let out a low, almost anguished moan as Ein worked, whispering "Oh _gods" _in a soft and shaking voice.

"There," Ein murmured, kissing Ledah's cheek and then hesitantly looking at the bottle again. _Well, if it _is _supposed to be a lubricant… _With a slight shrug, he moved his gel-covered hand back towards himself.

"Wait… let me," Ledah said softly, and before Ein could do anything, he'd taken over.

Ein bit back a cry as he felt the sudden soft heat against his skin, unable to keep himself from shuddering as Ledah's deft hands spread the clear gel over his groin. He understood, now, his lover's shivers and suppressed moans. No one had ever warned him that this was going to feel so _good._

"Ugh… if you keep… keep _torturing _me like this… I'm going to pull the feather on you," he warned, panting, now undeniably aroused.

"After _I _took all of _that _without complaint?" Ledah asked softly with an arched eyebrow and a smile. "I think that's a little unfair." He paused for a moment, and then his touch was gone. "I'm done anyway."

There was a moment of silence as Ein got his breathing under control and rolled the two of them over, stubbornly maintaining his position of kneeling just over Ledah. And then--

"Flavored."

_"What?" _

_"Flavored," _Ein repeated, unable to help but grin wickedly at the utterly confused look on Ledah's face.

_"Ein." _Ledah was shaking his head and smiling, but his tone of voice plainly said, Somehow-I-don't-think-so.

_"Le_dah." Raising his eyebrows, Ein stared a challenge at his lover, the intonation of Since-when-do-_you_-get-to-call-the-shots-when-_you're­_-on-the-_bottom? _very clear.

"I suppose that if that's what you really want, no one's going to stop you." Playfully, Ledah shoved at Ein's shoulder. "But you'd better remember that as soon as we change positions, you are in _very deep shit."_

Taking the reluctant agreement as it was given, Ein simply leaned down and began to kiss along his lover's body again.

This time, he did _not _stop at Ledah's navel.

_"AH--! _Oh, _gods, Ein…!" _Twisting helplessly, Ledah arched his back inwards, clenching his hands on the already-crumpled sheets beneath him. His voice already cracked, the fair-haired seraph cried out again. "Ein… _Ein…! _I can't… I can't _stand _this…! Ah… nnh… I don't think I can…"

But Ein wasn't listening. And as Ledah trembled with the effort of holding, he very gently continued to nudge his lover along with little nips and caresses of teeth and tongue, letting his fingers drift tantalizingly along Ledah's hips and the small of his back.

"Ein, I… unnhh… ah… oh, _dammit!" _Ledah cried, now fighting just to keep his hips relatively still through his vehement release. Spent, he slumped back against Ein's arms; the wingless angel finally let him go, wiped his face with the back of his hand, and held him tenderly, knowing what Ledah's futile struggling had cost him.

"You didn't need to try that hard, you know," he murmured softly, rubbing Ledah's back supportively. "You knew it wasn't gonna matter in the end." Then, almost as an afterthought: "You taste good."

"Pervert," Ledah managed between deep gasps for air.

"But you love me for it," Ein told him, grinning.

"Don't ask me why." The blonde seraph sighed. "Just… just give me a moment, alright?"

"Okay." It was the least Ein could do, he thought to himself; he only ever wondered if he'd been too demanding after the fact, and the lost gods only knew what it was costing Ledah. Letting a few minutes pass, he leaned in, kissed his lover, and asked softly, "Are you feeling better?"

"More or less," Ledah replied dryly. "Hurry up. I just may fall asleep if you don't."

Ein paused, considered, and ran a hand over Ledah's body, making a point to gently, gently press down his nails as his fingers grazed his lover's belly and groin.

Ledah hissed and swore softly, though Ein felt his body responding regardless. "You little _sadist. _I am going to get you for this if it's the last thing I do."

"I notice that you get off on it, though. Does that make us sadomasochistic?"

"Shut up, Ein." Despite his irritation, Ledah was laughing. "Either you do it, or _I _will. And since you managed to suck off that lubricant, I don't think you'd like it if I did."

"Point taken." And before Ledah could start again, Ein kissed him, fierce and tender all at once. Feeling the bite of nails on his back and the soft pressure as the blonde's legs wound around his waist in a desperate grip, he sheathed himself in his lover's body, coming hard and fast as Ledah cried his name.

---

_He was dreaming. He knew that with the odd certainty that dreamers have, but for some reason it didn't seem to matter at the moment._

_He was walking down a forested path that reminded him vaguely of the manalith roads of Yggdrasil. There were other figures walking here and there, but he paid them little mind; they were faint, hooded and cloaked, carrying spectrally luminescent candles as they walked forward in a daze._

_There was a gate before him, tall and magnificent, shining a faintly pearlescent green. His fellow travelers simply walked through it, their candles blazing brighter and brighter as they neared it._

_But Ein's attention was drawn to a figure that sat next to the gate, curled into a desolate ball, the candle it had apparently carried flickering lower and lower by the moment, guttering, the flame nearly dead. Whoever it was, they were sobbing--long, hoarsely, and hard, as though their heart would break. Ein's heart was instantly wracked with pity, and he wondered why this person wasn't passing through with the others._

_As he drew closer, he began to feel as though he should know this figure, this woman (for whoever she was, she _was _female). The details of her appearance became clearer as Ein headed towards the gate--blood-spattered white dress, tattered blue cape, sand-blonde hair blazing like a beacon in the hazy dream-world, pale hands with delicate-looking fingers interlaced at her knees in an almost clawlike grip… and most unsettling of all, ragged black wings…_

_Ein grew cold with shock even as his feet carried him onward. It couldn't be…_

_She looked up at him, breath still hitching audibly, bright tears on her cheeks, the skin directly beneath her eyes red and slightly swollen from the prolonged contact with the salt as she'd cried. Those eyes… those unmistakable, onyx-black eyes…_

_Ein stared, barely three feet from her, his mouth suddenly dry._

_"Malice…?"_

---

Ein jolted awake with a start to find that Ledah was already sitting up beside him, a troubled expression on his face.

Shaking his head, he ran a hand through his hair, mopping away sweat. "Gods. What a dream."

"Dream…?" Ledah asked, turning to his lover with a pensive expression.

Making a face, Ein explained as best he could, realizing to his alarm that the look on Ledah's face was growing continually grimmer as he spoke. "I don't really understand it… it was just so strange. What could it have meant, do you think?"

Ledah was silent for a moment. "Do you…really want to know?"

"Of course I do! This is too weird!"

"Ein, I… I've been having the same dream for about a week now."

_That _got Ein's attention. _"What? _But… but how could that _be?"_

"Do you know what that place is?" Ledah's deep baritone dwindled to a grave, shaken whisper. "Ein, do you have _any idea _what that place is?"

"N-no… how could I?" the wingless angel asked, bewildered. "It looked kinda like Yggdrasil, but it couldn't've been, could it?"

"That place… still haunts my darkest dreams," Ledah said softly. "Ein, it's the gate to Valhalla."

"WHAT?" Ein stared, wide-eyed.

"I still remember… two years ago, I was walking that path myself. And I've had that dream enough times that I understand, Ecthel… Malice… she… she can't get through."

Ledah's gaze was distant, pained; he sat hunched forward with the sheets still drawn to his waist, elbows resting on his knees, his interlaced fingers a few inches below his chin. His wings were angled forward so that Ein couldn't accurately read his expression, but there was more than enough ache in his voice to make Ein wonder.

"How can you tell?"

"We walked that path together, Ein, although I stopped to look back along the way, wishing that I would be able to see you again. She should've gone through by now. If she'd been destined for Hel, she would've walked the road to Niflheim instead of Valhalla's. But she earned her rightful place in the Halls of the Slain. The only family that ever loved her is waiting on the other side of that gate. She'd have no reason to just stop like that, Ein--she wouldn't, not for any reason. She's stuck… she hasn't committed enough sin to be damned, but she's killed too many people, stolen too many souls to be let through. There's nowhere she _can _go anymore…"

"Don't worry so much about her, Ledah. She tried to kill you, over and over. Maybe this is what she deserves."

Ledah rounded furiously on Ein, glaring sharply into his lover's eyes. "I _never _want to hear you say that. _No one _deserves treatment like that, no matter what they've done. Malice has suffered more than enough."

Ein blinked, then spread his hands and shook his head. "She was Hector's little servant, Ledah! She stabbed us all in the back--and _you! _You nearly _died, _twice! She would've seen everyone in Riviera dead, just to further Hector's insane little cause. He used her, but she was willing to be used. You heard the things she said--she believed in all the crap he was spewing!"

"He used her. That's _exactly the point, _Ein," Ledah told him, eyes flinty, voice grim and cold. "No one can know just what Hector did to her. He was rough enough with _me, _and I wasn't even the pawn he'd pegged his twisted dreams on. Malice was strong, but she was no Grim Angel. She made mistakes… too many mistakes. And you and I both know that Hector didn't forgive mistakes easily."

Ein's insides went cold. "What are you saying, Ledah?" he asked in a whisper.

"Torture, brainwashing, perhaps even rape--who knows? Malice was a victim of her life's circumstances. Or have you forgotten what happened to her parents? He used her, betrayed her, and in the end, he killed her. She's gone through enough. Don't make her suffer any longer, Ein. No one deserves the nightmare she's been living."

"But… she was…" Ein fumbled, his defenses crumbling.

_"She was once our friend," _Ledah said softly, his words falling like heavy blocks of ice and granite. "And I can't just stand by as her soul dies slowly. I have to do something."

_Aren't we Mr. Bleeding-Heart all of a sudden? _Ein thought to himself. "But what _can _we do? We're only angels. We can't undermine the will of the gods."

"This is Hector's will, if anyone's," was Ledah's bitter reply. "And you forget: I'm a priest, twice sworn to the gods. There are certain purification rituals that absolve the soul of sin, as long as he or she who undergoes the rite truly desires and deserves forgiveness."

"The ceremony tonight…" Ein whispered, his eyes widening in realization.

"Exactly." Ledah sighed. "I'm… sorry I got angry at you. But I can't just sit and watch people suffering any longer… I've had enough of that to last me a lifetime."

Ein's heart melted. "Aww… don't apologize to me. You're right, and besides, this is what it means for you to have your emotions back. …I don't really think I want Malice separated from Rizuna-san any longer, anyway."

With a smile of relief, Ledah slumped against Ein's side as the younger angel slipped an arm around his waist. "Thank you…"

"I'll help if I can, but I'm a little out of my depth here," the blue-eyed young man confessed. "Besides… I have a feeling you've decided this is your cross to bear. You're not alone, okay? I'm sure almost everybody will feel the same way."

Ledah sighed contentedly and snuggled closer, his eyes half-closed and tranquil.

---

The day passed by slowly in the hours that led to the ceremony Ledah had planned with the Elder's permission.

For the most part, Ein avoided the other villagers, not sure whether or not he could face up to Serene in particular. He knew that they were all curious about Ledah's rather clandestine plans, and he didn't know what he was going to say to them if they asked. What would Serene's reaction be if he were to tell her that he and Ledah were trying to save the soul of the woman who was responsible for the deaths of her entire race…?

Ledah had retreated to the company of Graham and Ladie, conversing with them in grave, quiet tones. He was as obviously unwilling to share what he was doing as Ein was unwilling to talk to the others about it, and he had his own ideas in mind about what he was supposed to do. The wingless angel only hoped that his friend had a way to rescue Malice without invoking Serene's wrath or depression. His life was peaceful now; as selfish as it might have been, he didn't want to give that up.

Night fell.

Slowly, speaking in curious whispers to each other, the residents of Elendia began to arrive at the base of the World Tree in twos and threes. Graham and Ladie stood to either side of a tall block of what looked like some type of stone at the Tree's roots; Ledah himself stood in the center of the ring the various Sprites of Elendia formed as they arrived, about a wingspan or so away from the small monolith

_(Lithograph?)_

that gleamed in the ethereal light of the various white candles that had been laid over various small stones and pedestals around the scene. Ein felt a momentary surge of pride in his lover; Ledah had arranged all of this out of nothingness, all to save one soul. If the two of them had remained in Asgard, what a high priest the blonde, scarlet-robed angel would have been!

Taking a deep breath and steadying himself, Ledah began to speak in low, even tones, his soft but beautiful voice resonant with purpose and dignity.

"I know that you all have wondered why it took Rose, Ein, and myself two years to return to you… let me confess to you now that the fault is largely mine.

"In truth… we could have been here several months earlier, but my dear friends allowed me to travel the whole of Riviera before we came home. Not even they fully knew the reason I wanted to do so, at least at that time."

Ledah sighed and then shook his head sorrowfully.

_"One thousand souls," _he whispered, but all heard his words. "One thousand souls. That was the cost to release the seal that bound Seth, the Sprite of Death, in all her terrible innocence and fearsome power. _One thousand souls _were stolen and sacrificed to see the Magus Hector's twisted dreams become reality. _One thousand **lives."**_

There was a moment of silence.

"As a final gift to Ein before her power at last ran dry and she returned to the dead realms where she belonged, Ursula resurrected me. _Me, _alone out of one thousand sacrificial victims. Me, and only me. I walked the road to Valhalla. I saw the sheer number of lost souls searching for the gate. _Nine hundred and ninety-nine lost souls, _some of which were forgotten by this world the moment they died.

"Forgotten by this world… but not by me. I could never forget that sight. Old men and women, warriors cut from life in their prime, even _children. _The murdered, the sacrificed, the betrayed… all, _all… _As a Grim Angel… as a _priest… _as a _living being _in this world… I couldn't let things stand as they are. Too much has happened; too many have died. The pain of the families left behind, the pain of the Earth as she watches her scattered children suffering… must be remembered when the story of Ein's heroism is told. Because all the future generations must know that this is a true story… because the dead must be cherished and remembered for their horrible, unwilling role in it.

"And so… I traveled Riviera. And I acquired all nine hundred and ninety-nine names."

There was a long, very pregnant hush.

"They have already been inscribed here, upon this memorial, so that they may never be forgotten… neither in Elendia, nor in all of this world."

Turning, his face bleak even as his crimson eyes were soft with sorrow, Ledah began to read, slowly and gravely, pausing after every name on his heartrending list.

And Elendia listened.

There was no one among the many who had not heard at least one of the casualties. Lost in their memories, they listened, respectfully silent. There was no small outbreak of tears along the way; as Ledah came to the names of her lost friends and family, Serene completely lost control and sank to the snowy ground, sobbing into her hands. Lina and Rose, standing on either side of her, bent to offer what solace they could, though neither of them spoke.

The moments in the charmed circle seemed to stretch into years, though none could allow their attention to waver from the soft poignancy of Ledah's voice, which came very near to breaking itself a few times. Even the smallest children were silent, listening to the gentle cadence of the angel's speech as he made his way down the list.

_Gods, Ledah, _Ein thought to himself, awed. _You never even said a word about it, and you'd been planning this all along… you must've just incorporated your desire to help Malice into your own plans. You're amazing, dearest… no one in all the worlds could've done it better._

"…Katya Blackram… and Malice Ructor."

Raising both hands imploringly, Ledah turned his gaze to the deep, star-studded skies. "Balder, child of Frigga… by thy kind and noble heart, guide and guard the spirits of the deceased on their path to your realm. Hela, dark mother to us all, cherish and keep thy dead. And Odin, my liege and my lord, ruler of us all… bless your fallen children. Allow them passage to the highest halls of Valhalla, for they have died the deaths of the most courageous heroes." Ein caught sight of the faint glow surrounding his lover and friend's hands, and realized that Ledah was invoking a spell of the most ancient angelic power. "Until thy covenant is fulfilled and your return draws nigh, as your servant, I beg of you…" Lowering his hands, Ledah knelt and clasped them, level with his heart. "As your Grim Angel… this I pray…"

There was a long silence, during which many of Elendia's residents also bowed their heads in prayer; finally, Ledah stood, bowed deeply to the lithograph, then to Graham, and backed into the space left for him next to Ein.

Giving his lover a proud, fleeting smile, Ein slipped his hand into Ledah's and squeezed it. "Good job, you."

In response, Ledah simply smiled and returned the squeeze.

Graham cleared his throat to speak. "May these names and this ceremony never leave our hearts. Thank you, Ledah. And now… let us travel our yearly paths, and think of lighter things, in honor of the dead, of the gods, and of the heroes who have returned to us at last."

Each taking a candle, the members of the circle formed a filed line and began to traverse the snowy paths of Elendia.

Ein had no idea who it was who first began to sing--only that the song, a very old and beloved carol, was taken up by every member of the line. He himself had an okay singing voice; it was nothing special, but there were no outstanding faults to it, either. But he made sure to keep quiet enough that he was able to hear Ledah beside him.

If confronted, the seraph would always deny it, but his singing voice was beautiful--smooth, rich, and possessing a range of enough octaves that he could get through most songs with ease. His melodious baritone was always soft out of shyness and deep embarrassment for his own inherent skill, but along this simple, well-known song, it was doing a crescendoing, supporting glide that seemed to be the driving force behind the blended voices of Elendia's Sprites.

Ein thought to himself that he had never loved Ledah more as the two of them trailed at the end of the line--the way his lover seemed to be haloed in holy light, his soft blonde hair wild and fluffy as ever, his carmine eyes alight with the harmonious peace and love that surrounded their village, his pale cheeks flushed with the delicate happiness of friendship, his black wings folded easily at his back. He wanted nothing more than to stand and listen to Ledah sing, to hold him and tell him the depths of the pride he had inspired during his ceremony, to take him home and love him in sweet tenderness, running his fingertips along every inch of his soft, beautiful, luscious, and utterly kissable skin. He wanted all those things and more… but it was enough to just walk side by side with him, their hands clasped together as a sign of their eternal bond, the tiny heart-shaped stone on Ledah's promise ring resonating with pure love.

As soon as his whirlwind of thoughts subsided, Ein was able to hear the faint sound of a blunt, brassy, confident woman's alto behind him.

_But Ledah and I are last in line…?_

At the same moment, he and Ledah whirled, staring in open shock as the translucent, faintly glowing form of a certain young woman headed down the path several yards behind them, fully clothed in her blue-and-white battle wear, her _pure white _wings open behind her, arms crossed behind her back, that old, crooked, well-if-you-don't-like-it-then-_fuckya _smile at last returned to her face as she belted the little Christmas carol at the top of her ethereal lungs. Seeing the two of them standing before her, she stopped, winked, and waved jauntily at them, then faded from their plane of existence, heading back to where she belonged.

Ein and Ledah could both clearly see, even from their distance from the World Tree, that there was now a blue-white, Diviner-like axe resting against the memorial there.

Starting to grin out of pure wonder, Ein took both of Ledah's hands and squeezed them happily.

"You did a good thing tonight," he murmured.

They looked at each other for a moment, then began to head after the people of Elendia again, both their voices raised once more in song.

---

In the higher realms of the world, Malice Ructor headed through the gates of Valhalla into her mother's waiting arms, laughing and crying all at once.

---

NEXT TIME: The epilogue is at hand. Holy CRAP this chapter was long! (22 pages, to be precise!) Well, there are just a few more loose ends to tie up, and then this fic is over and done with. Thank you, God!

Sorry about the format changes in the middle of the chapter, by the way. While I was working on it, our old computer finally spazzed and ended up with a hard-drive error that we don't know how to fix, so we got a real live Pentium-III Compaq that has real live Microsoft Word on it, OMG… although I still have no home Internet. So I had a program update, yayness. That's all. :3


	10. Epilogue: Road's Call

A Very Riviera Christmas

DISCLAIMER: Well, it should be fairly clear by now that I don't own :3 However, I should be given full credit for my ingenious plans to stick two certain boys together XD Just so's you know!

Over the span of several months, winter passed in Riviera.

There were hardships and victories both small and large, as is the way in life. Dangerous storms, though none quite so bad as the one that had trapped Ein and his company in their home for a week. Celebrations, as birthdays and anniversaries passed. Life, essentially, took its natural course, and peace reigned throughout the land.

As time went by, all of Elendia eventually adopted Ein, Ledah, and Rose as their own. The sight of the two angels perched somewhere high and out-of-reach, or of the former familiar roaming the streets with a new book and a black quill pen, became commonplace and accepted. The youngest children were already beginning to forget that things had been any other way.

Peace had returned to the land.

But some, it seemed, had gone too far on their adventures to be able to take the gift of peace just yet. And regardless of their love for their home, Ein and Ledah could never forget where they had come from…

---

Ein lay lazily on his back, staring up at the ceiling and letting his thoughts drift aimlessly.

He was sticky with sweat and there was still a dull, exhaustion-born ache in his lower belly, but he was content. The aftereffects of his release and the culmination of resolution always made him sleepy, and he suspected that it probably always would. But it was a sweet tiredness, and no matter how rough he and Ledah had been with each other, the tenderness they shared when it was done was almost as good as sex itself. He and the blonde were still partially entangled; Ledah's head was rested on his chest, with the seraph's arms fitted loosely around his waist. Their naked bodies were still pressed together, their legs a tangled braid of pale and sweat-darkened skin. Absently, Ein played with a few soft tufts of Ledah's hair, teasing their ends over and over in a comforting repetitive movement. Very slowly, without moving the rest of his body, Ledah stretched out both of his wings, briefly twitched his left, then resettled them with aching care, stretching one over to cover the two of them above the thin sheets that were strewn across their bodies.

It had been about a week or so since Ein, who had secretly been a little afraid, had at last let Ledah come inside him. As the blonde had warned him, and unwillingly let on during their first time, the pain had been fierce and sharp, and would've been unbearable, had Ledah not been so sensitive to his young lover's needs. If Ein hadn't known about the older angel's past experiences with sex, he would've been greatly surprised; Ledah was a very gentle and tender lover. Sensing without need for words the state that Ein was in, he had waited to bring the young brunet past his pain (and the fear that came with it) to show him the helpless pleasures of being an uke. Early on, Ein had learned that Ledah generally liked to take things slowly when granted his brief graces of dominance; it had paid off that night when the two of them had climaxed in unison and given deeper of each other than they'd thought their bodies capable.

Among the many other things Ledah had taught him, Ein could now list the true meanings of patience and understanding. The wingless angel was learning fast from those rare nights what Ledah not only desired but _needed _from him, and he used that knowledge to carefully wake his friend and lover's flesh fully to his own in their lovemaking. And it was the things he had learned which led the two of them to quiet moments like this.

Ein let himself savor the deep silence and comfort a moment longer, then spoke, his words reluctant and soft. "You can feel it too, can't you?"

Ledah sighed and did not respond.

"This peace… it just doesn't feel right, somehow. Almost as if, for some reason… we don't _deserve _it, at least not yet."

"You don't have to say it. I know." Ledah's voice was equally reluctant as he lay against his lover's body.

Ein went on. "I think… I think I know what we have to do. But even though I can't really relax anymore unless I'm with you, like this… I'm almost afraid to do it…"

"……" Ledah shifted slightly and closed his eyes.

"It would make the girls sad. And besides…" Ein held Ledah a little more tightly, and let out an almost-frustrated sigh. "It's not fair. After all that we've done, why can't we have the peace we helped create? …It doesn't make sense, Ledah…"

"Sometimes we're forced to make too many changes to be able to return to our old lives quite so quickly, Ecthel. …And there are still things that we must do in this world before we will be allowed to fade back into the void of anonymity."

"Well, it sucks." Ein sighed again and leaned his cheek against his lover's forehead.

"So does life, but that's just the way it's always been."

Ein frowned. "You are altogether too passive. Why don't you think that can be changed?"

"And you're too idealistic, as well as too aggressive. You think you can change everything."

"That's not such a bad thing, though…" Stretching, he added, "But hey, isn't that what makes us such a good couple?"

Although he didn't give any spoken reply, Ledah smiled.

---

Fia reached up to touch a few buds on the branches of the trees as she passed them by.

Spring was her favorite season; she loved all the new beginnings that happened in it. It was in her nature to love birth and detest death, and here was the time of year when birth reigned.

"I wonder what the new blossoms will look like this year…" she said dreamily as she walked down the village paths.

As she went, however, she caught sight of something that deeply disturbed her, though she couldn't say why.

Ein was standing near the entrance to Elendia, looking out with a distant expression on his face, deep sadness in his eyes.

Feeling prickles of worry starting along her back, Fia gathered up her full skirts and hurried over to him. "Ein…? Ein, what is it…?"

Starting, the wingless angel turned to look at her, visibly surprised. "Fia? Ah… do you need something…?"

"You had such a strange look on your face…" she said softly, her green eyes liquid and pained. "For a moment, you looked almost as if… as if you were leaving…"

Ein was silent, but a crease formed on his brow as she spoke.

"Don't go anywhere, Ein," she begged him. "Don't you know that Elendia will gladly take you in? We all owe you so much…! And I… I don't want you to go… we'd all miss you so much… so please…"

"Don't worry, Fia," he told her, but he looked almost more troubled than before. "If I ever had to leave here, it would be for a good reason, and it wouldn't be for long. Because this is… this is really my home now, you know?"

Fia nodded, but the look on her face said clearly that she couldn't believe him.

---

"This is going to be so much harder than I expected," Ein said with a sigh.

"That's the problem with you, Ein—you just don't think enough about things before you decide you're going to do them," Rose told him frankly. "It's not as if you aren't intelligent, it's just that you act like you aren't whenever it really counts. Honestly! You knew that everyone was going to take it badly, and now that Fia already suspects… well…" She shrugged.

"You don't seem to mind that much, though," Ein pointed out.

Rose stretched and sighed. "That's because, if I wasn't busy where I am now, I think I would be going with you. I've finally found my purpose in life, and it's not going to let me rest easy either. As soon as I'm done collecting the folk stories of Elendia, I think I'm going to be heading out again."

"On your own? Ledah and I… we might not be back by then, after all…"

"Maybe. Maybe not." Rose shrugged. "Don't look so worried about me—I have my own magic powers, as you may've forgotten. I can take care of myself. Besides, I may just decide to tag along with Serene. You know she's been saying that she wants to go do something about all the demons that are still running around here."

"Huh…"

"Don't think that you and Ledah are the only ones who are having trouble just settling in now that all the action's over and done with. Just look at Cierra—from the way Claude and Soala tell it, she hit the books two months after we left, and she's been studying magic and developing her own new spells ever since. Serene's getting fidgety. And you know that Lina's got her own plans for her quest two years from now to look forward to. I think Fia's really the only one who'd be content to just go back to being an average, everyday priestess-in-training here in Elendia. It's not as if we won't all come back home a lot… it's more that we can't stand to just sit here when we can see things worth doing out in the world.

"You know, part of the problem is, all of us have already found our purpose. I'm a writer. Cierra's a born and bred witch, immersed in her studies. Serene's shaping up to be a crusader. Lina's a treasure hunter. Fia has the training she'll need to go through to become the next Elder when her grandfather passes away. But you and Ledah? You guys don't really know what your purpose is anymore. Back in Asgard, you knew you were going to be a Grim Angel, and Ledah was on the fast track to becoming a high priest, but _here _you don't know what to do with yourselves. So you've found something worthwhile to do in the meantime. And after that, you'll either figure out your purpose or find something else to do, or something else after that. It may be that the Magi will want you back on Grim Angel duty, anyway, but I don't think you'll really be okay with that, Ein… not with all the fighting and killing they'll want you to do. You'll only be content when you've got a real purpose in life again, and that even might not let you stay in one place for very long, you know?

"I just want you to be prepared, is all. You're my friend. I worry about you."

Ein grinned. "That's quite a speech, there."

Rose smacked him. "Oh, shut up. You know what I mean, don't you?"

"Loud and clear, Professor." Knowing she'd take another swing, Ein ducked again, laughing.

---

"Are you really leaving, Serene?" Lina asked, her light brown eyes wide and teary.

"I have to." The last Arc grimaced and swung her pack over her shoulder, looking back and forth from every face in their circle of friends. "There are still demons crawling all over Rosalina, and it's my duty as an Arc to get rid of them. When I think of them roaming around my home and Lacrima, I…" Her hands clenched, and her eyes glittered angrily.

"Be careful, though," Fia said softly, her voice mournful. "And please, come back home as soon as you possibly can. We're all going to miss you so much…"

"'Specially since Cierra and Soala and everyone are going off to investigate Nelde," Lina pouted.

"But we'll be coming back within the week," the scarlet witch protested, her eyebrows upraised. "You shouldn't worry so much, Lina. Big sister can handle it if demons show up."

"Yeah…" Smirking, Serene flexed her right arm, showing off the hard, rippling muscle that popped up when she did. "I think we're gonna be okay."

Rose discreetly elbowed Ein, who made a face at her, then turned to Ledah and squeezed his hand in silent inquiry. The blonde angel nodded, then let Ein step forward.

"Um, well… this is probably a _really _bad time to say it, but I think Ledah and I will be going soon, too."

"What? Why!" The girls all rounded on the two of them, faces locked in various expressions of shock, disbelief, and heartbreak.

"Ein and I have become aware over the past months… that those of Asgard probably never received the full story about what happened here two years ago," Ledah said softly. "That being the case, the six remaining Magi could possibly be pending judgement on Riviera in their confusion over Hector's death. Not all of the Magi are like him. I believe… _we _believe… that they can still be reasoned with, if that's the case."

"And even if they aren't, Asgard deserves to know the truth about what's going on in Riviera," Ein continued. "Hector had everyone believing his wicked lies. They may still think everything he said about there still being dangerous demons that are trying to overthrow Asgard is true. And someone would have to convince them otherwise—someone who's actually been here, and seen everything."

"Riviera needs a time of peace and healing after the way the demons disrupted the natural flow of life here," Ledah told them gravely. "Ein and I will act as the emissary relaying the message that the Sprites are not contradicting the will of the gods, but wish to live in harmony with the angels and the Magi. It's an important mission that must be fulfilled by those of us who have lived in and love both lands."

"But, we can go with you," Fia protested. "Lina and I will go with you!"

"No. I can't allow it," Ein said firmly. "Do you remember when we traveled through Yggdrasil, and got to its highest realms, where Ursula lived? It was very close to Asgard, and you and the others found the atmosphere to be too heavy for you to exist in for long. Ledah and I, and Rose too, would be fine, since we were born and raised there. We're natives. But we might have to stay there for a while, and any of you could end up being very sick. We can't risk you, don't you understand that?"

"Then Rose can go with you," Fia insisted. "Can't you understand that I can't _let _you go alone!"

"I'm staying here," Rose said flatly. "I don't have their twitch to be up and doing things just yet, and I like taking my time around here. I'm an author now, and I have stories to write. I may travel the world in my lifetime, but I want to enjoy the peace right now. And I trust these boys to be able to survive on their own."

"Besides, I'm not going alone," Ein reasoned, smiling now. "Ledah will be with me."

"Furthermore, we'll still have the power of Lorelei and Einherjar," Ledah added. "We are Grim Angels, born and trained to deal with danger. …Besides, Asgard is our birthland. I doubt that we would be going into undue danger there."

Fia looked at them with wide and tearful eyes, but at last she nodded. "…I understand…"

"We're going to leave in seven days," Ein said softly. "We don't really want a big send-off, either. That'll make it seem like we're not coming back. Which we _are."_

There was a long pause in which no one said anything.

"Elendia… it's our home," Ein told them at last, hands held out helplessly.

---

The two angels stood in the middle of the path, gazing into the distant sunset. On either side, the road was flanked by a few venerable pine trees and the grass carpeted in roses of the most delicate pinks and vivid crimsons.

They had walked a long way, and the dust of the road clung to their clothes; though they were tired, both looked remarkably at ease, even happy.

Ledah turned to his lover with a soft smile. "We still have quite a ways to go before we reach Asgard, my Ecthel."

Letting the gentle wind ruffle his unruly bluish-brown hair, which was beginning to get more than a bit shaggy, Ein did not immediately reply. He knew that somewhere far behind him, Serene was battling ferociously simply to stay alive against overwhelming odds, and enjoying every minute of it; he knew that Cierra was continuing her groundbreaking research on the forgotten magics of the Nelde ruins and the deep mazes of the Wiese forest; that Lina was bubbling over with plans for a grander adventure than any her heart could conceive; that Fia was praying desperately for their safety.

That Rose was writing another book… perhaps one about them.

And Ein knew that for the first time in months—since he had first arrived in Elendia after years of travel—everything felt _right _again.

"So in the end, what did they find over the horizon?" he murmured.

Ledah understood immediately, and slipped his hand into his lover's, squeezing it tightly. "The gates to Valhalla, standing open and welcoming," he replied in a tender whisper. "Nirvana, and a place of honor in Heaven. Their fate, and they went to it in gladness."

Ein squeezed back, and leaned against Ledah's side, reveling in the comfort of his lover's wing folding around him.

"It's time to go," the blonde said, not unkindly. "Asgard should be just beyond Heaven's Gate."

Ein suddenly recalled enough about the beginning of his journey to find the irony in Ledah's statement, and began to laugh, sudden and startled and glorious like church bells broken from their winter's freeze. Ledah stood and looked at him for a moment, not quite comprehending, seeming almost hauntingly like his old self until he realized and smiled, soft and slow, his gentle humor lighting his carmine eyes from within.

"Come on, then," Ein said at last, but laid his hand on Ledah's cheek instead and held him there, falling in love with him all over again just for the pure wonder in those eyes.

"You're beautiful, Ledah Rozwelli."

"As you are yourself… Ecthel Legendra."

Not even pausing to wonder at the name his lover had given him, Ein leaned forward into Ledah's kiss, and the two of them stood clasped in sweetness on the path into the horizon, the path to Asgard and Valhalla and all of destiny, for they would travel the road that led to the end of their days together, and they knew it well.

---

_Thus ends this tale of Heaven's last Grim Angels, Ledah Rozwelli, l'ange de croix rose, and my own dear Ein, him that was Ecthel Demonsbane who became Ecthel Legendra, l'ange d'ailes vertes._

_After leaving Elendia and having several magnificent adventures of which can be read in any of my other volumes, Ein and Ledah did indeed reach Asgard, and were accepted with open arms by Lady Celina of the Six Magi. They henceforth became the emissaries of peace as well as judgement throughout the many lands of our world, and though they were called upon from time to time to remember their calling as Grim Angels, they were mostly allowed to roam as they wished throughout Riviera and Midgard._

_They returned to Elendia for a time, but were soon off again, responding to cries for help from a village overrun by demons._

_They returned again—for five years—then left on a dangerous mission given unto them by Celina, which led them into the bowels of Hel itself._

_Then returned yet again, only to be called away again when Ledah had his chance at last to fight to win back his love's lost wings._

_I suppose what I'm trying to say is… that Ein and Ledah did at last find their purpose as heroes, and lived happily and perilously on the razor edge of life at its fullest. Every legend in the making, though most will surely be exaggerated, that the future will hear of the Angel of the Rose Cross and the Angel of Green Wings is true._

_And though each of those legends in the making have been written and recorded as best I can make them, there is perhaps one last story to tell of my dear angels, most restless of Asgard and Riviera's shared children._

_The tale, short as it may be, of the day that came when Ein and Ledah did _not _come home…_

_-Rose R. Crawford, Historian_

:TO BE CONTINUED IN THE CODA:

Author's Note: You think it's over… and then it's not.

Seriously. Even I thought it was over.

I swear.

But then it felt as though old sai Roland Deschain or one of his get (and if you don't know old long, tall, and ugly, take my word for it that he is one INSISTENT cowboy) poked me in the back and told me, "Hile, wordslinger—thy tale is not yet done."

(shakes head and rolls eyes) Anyway, I swear to God that the coda is going to be the last of AVRC you'll read. Although some of you may not like how it ends, it's a true end. My heart's the one that tells me these stories. I just write them down. If I tried to change things for the better or the worse, the story would only end up that much crappier.

NEXT TIME: The end of Ein and Ledah's story, for good or ill. And once again… it all happened on Christmas…


	11. Coda: The Gates of Valhalla

A Very Riviera Christmas

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Riviera, Sting does. I'm beginning to wonder if I even own this story, since it just ran away from me and started doing its own thing again. o.o;; But anyway, I don't own Ein and Ledah (they own each other), I just own my mad plot to make them fall in love and then stay there forever and a day. So yeah. Don't sue me, or I'll feed you to Reiko-kun (that would be Juggernaut to all of you who've never read my Legaia fics). Rawr.

_coda_

:Excerpts from the diary of Ecthel Legendra, called Ein:

_Twelfthmoon, fifteenth day, 7:45 PM _

_The outbreak in Hazelwood is over at last; Ledah and I are heading back home (finally!) after what seems like forever. We'll get to Elendia just in time for Christmas, the gods willing._

_I'm glad Fia and Cierra headed back home when they did, especially with Fia in her condition. It was all we could do just to keep them in quarantine—Ledah and I were just damned lucky that neither of us caught sick while we were out and about, helping the townsfolk. As soon as the cure was made, they left, and that was almost two months ago. No new sickness has cropped up since we got Cierra's potions and the shots she called "vaccines" handed out._

_Even with everything I've seen in my life, I think that plague was probably the scariest situation I've been in. Sickness isn't something you can fight with a sword; you just have to do all you can and trust in the sick person him or herself, and sometimes even all that's not enough. So many people died, and Ledah and I couldn't save a single one… in the end, it was Cierra's work, not ours, that really made the difference._

_It was even worse because of the way the plague acted—no symptoms at all until the fever blisters started showing up, and then the fatigues, collapsing, fevers, deliriums, and night sweats as the disease ate those poor Sprites alive. At that point, it was just do everything you could and pray—some got better, some didn't. It'll give me nightmares until the day I die._

_Dinner now; more later._

_Twelfthmoon, sixteenth day, 8:22 AM_

_It's simply amazing that it's twelfthmoon and there's still no snow. Remembering the blizzard way back when—almost ten years ago now!—I just can't believe it. It's not like I _enjoy _tramping through the cold, not at all—snow is really hard to fly in 'cause there's no thermals, and it's IMPOSSIBLE if snow's actually coming down._

_It's cold in here, though. I hope Ledah gets back in soon. He left the covers on his side of the futon turned down, and my fingers are already turning to ice just from writing. He was absolutely incredible last night, and I think it's getting to be time to pay him back, heh heh heh. He's not any less lively, even if he claims he's getting old (turning the big 3-7 next year, if you can believe it), and as soon as he comes back it's going to warm up in here in a hurry._

_Hang on, there was just this weird noise outside. Looks like I'm going to have to get dressed after all, since I don't hear Ledah at all. Some help he is, right? But I'll be back, as soon as I drag him back in and teach him a "lesson" or two…_

_Later_

_I can't believe this is happening! I went outside after I put my clothes on, and Ledah was lying facedown next to the dead fire he was supposed to be lighting to make breakfast! I carried him back inside and put him in bed, and I've got hot water for tea when he wakes up, but I've got a bad feeling about this._

_I hope to all the gods that he's just worked himself too hard. Maybe he's right and his age _is _catching up with him, and I just haven't noticed 'cause I've been preoccupied with the fact that he's as good in bed as he ever was._

_Please, gods._

_I can't remember ever being this scared, except for maybe the time in Yggdrasil when I thought Ledah was going to die. It feels horrible. Grown men are not supposed to be this scared._

_It looks like he's coming around…_

_Twelfthmoon, seventeenth day, 12:53 PM_

_Too much happened yesterday for me to get the chance to sit down and write. Here goes, but I can't make any promises about how far I'll get._

_As soon as Ledah woke up and realized what had happened, he just broke down and started crying right in front of me. He told me he'd suspected for a while, but just been too afraid to say anything about it or even face what it could mean. Then he took down his pants, pulled up the skirts of his robes, and showed me this little, tiny patch of angry red blisters way up on his thigh, almost in his groin. I should've seen it before, should've realized SOMETHING when Ledah started keeping his legs together in the daytime, but I was too stupid and I couldn't see clearly enough in the dark._

_My nightmares have a way of walking into broad daylight and then not leaving._

_Ledah still wants to be up and around and helping, but I won't let him. He needs rest if he's going to fight this thing, and I'm going to do everything I possibly can._

_He's always been pretty healthy. He's going to make it, I know he is._

_Twelfthmoon, nineteenth day, 9:45 PM_

_I'm almost too tired to write, but I know that I have to get this down._

_Ledah was doing fine all through the last two days until the fever started to set in for real. He can't stand up or walk without collapsing, and the blisters have spread along his back with a few on his chest and belly, and there's one really painful-looking one next to his lips like a mole. I've been trying to get food into him, but he just can't keep anything down. This is really bad._

_The really scary thing is that he's visibly terrified when he's awake, even though he tries to hide it. Just before he went to sleep ten minutes ago, he hung on to my wrist and asked me in this little voice if I thought he was going to die. I told him no, of course not, but my voice was shaking. And he started to cry again._

_I'm in bed next to him right now and he's already burning with fever even though he's lying there shaking. There are shadows under his eyes, and his face is already starting to look hollow. I know I should use Einherjar's magic to release my wings and go get help in Elendia, but I just can't bear to leave Ledah all alone here, when it could take a few days to get back._

_I hope I'm doing the right thing. I love Ledah so much… if anything happens to him, I don't know what I'll do…_

_Twelfthmoon, twentieth day, 3:21 PM_

_I feel like my head is going to explode._

_When I stripped down to wash today, there was a red blister between my legs._

_I think I'm going to go insane._

_Later_

_Ledah woke up and we talked a little bit about all this._

_His fever's passing, at least for now, but he can't keep anything heavier than tea and road-wafers in his system. The dark streaks beneath his eyes look as though they're going to be permanent. Is this what I'm going to be like in a few days? I don't know, and that's maybe the scariest thing of all._

_Ledah must've gotten sick while we were still in Hazelwood, and since I've been so close to him (and still having sex with him, oblivious as I've been) he must've passed it to me somehow. I understand now why he was so terrified before—we've both seen this plague murder the sickly and the well almost at random. The ones who are hardest hit, like Ledah has been, usually either die or get better fastest, and that can be either a good or bad sign—the ones who get sick and stay sick, even mildly, usually end up being the losing battles._

_I've seen plague victims die peacefully in their sleep, and I've seen them die screaming in terror from fever-hallucinations. I've seen them softly waste away to nothing and flicker out, and I've seen them go in horrible pain, suffering from vomiting when they try to eat and diarrhea when they manage to get something down at last. If this thing _does _get us, there's no telling how it will. Gods, I'm so scared. I have no idea what we're going to do._

_One thing is for certain—going for help in Elendia is now officially out. There's no set point as to when a plague victim stops being contagious, and if this spreads there too… even if Ledah and I were saved, I wouldn't be able to live with myself afterwards. No, we have to try to do this alone._

_I don't want to die. But I don't want to live without Ledah and it already looks like he's going to have this thing really badly until whatever end._

_Twelfthmoon, twenty-first day, 9:34 PM_

_It hurts so much just to write now._

_Ledah's had the fevers, nausea and weakness. Along with the blisters, I'm getting the aches._

_Every time I have to move my muscles start to scream in pain. It almost hurts just to breathe. I'm glad we still have our stores of trail food to get through, because neither of us is in the condition to try to hunt. Nowadays I'm just lying in bed, trying not to think of the victims who died with the same symptoms I have right now, eating whatever Ledah puts in front of me, and maybe crawling outside to pee. Which is way too dark, even for someone who's as sick as I am. It means I'm not getting the nutrition I need out of what I'm eating… if this keeps up, I'm going to be as hollow-cheeked as Ledah._

_His blisters are fading, by the way, except for the one beside his lips, which almost looks as though it's going to fester and turn into a sore. That could either be very good or very bad; it'd mean that he's fighting this off or that he's being thrown into the final stages of the disease._

_All the years we've been together, we just took everything for granted, especially our own health and well-being. Ledah hasn't been really sick since that time ten years ago in Elendia, and I've always been fairly healthy, too. I miss the days when we would just ditch whatever plans we'd have and lounge around the house naked, talking or sleeping or bathing and probably having sex at least a dozen times before sundown. I miss Fia's cooking and Serene's company. I miss Lina's contagious happiness, and I miss the way Cierra was always too glad to make her potions and creams for the two of us, fulfilling whatever we needed. I miss Rose's teasing and her writing. I want to go home, almost more than anything else._

_I want to go home…_

_Twelfthmoon, twenty-third day, 9:15 AM_

_Thank the gods for Ledah._

_I hit the delirium yesterday, and I can barely remember anything about it. I just have the vaguest impressions of Ledah holding me, forcing me to eat by passing food mouth-to-mouth and stroking my throat to make me swallow, soothing me when I was afraid._

_I love him so much._

_I'm so glad he seems to be getting better. All but that one of his blisters have disappeared completely, and he's been able to eat more than he has before. I'm so relieved… Ledah's been through too much in his lifetime to fall to some stupid sickness like this. And losing him would've killed me._

_Maybe if I manage to follow his example, we'll be able to get back to Elendia sometime around Christmas after all…_

_Later_

_Oh, gods._

_Ledah… he's dying._

_He's really dying…_

_He collapsed after being outside to try to cook something out of our supplies, and wound up vomiting so violently that blood was coming up with everything else he'd tried to eat today. I practically had to drag him back inside the tent, he's so weak… and he's lying there now, sleeping (thankfully), moaning with fever-aches. His temperature is going back up, and his skin feels clammy and almost… dirty. It's a bad way to put it, but it doesn't feel like his skin anymore, or at least not like his skin should feel, _has _felt for all his life. It's looser somehow, almost spongy, like the skin on a corpse that's been dead for a while._

_He isn't going to make it._

_I was crying for so long that I can't anymore right now, even though I want to more than anything. No, that isn't right. Now that I know Ledah will die, I don't want to live anymore. I want to go with him, die with him, no matter how that will be—from this plague, or even on Einherjar's blade, if that's what needs to be done. My purpose may be to help others, but Ledah is my reason for living. And without him… dying is all I can do, whether that's naturally or through suicide._

_I love him._

_I love him._

_Twelfthmoon, twenty-fourth day, 7:32 AM_

_Oh, fuck. This is awful._

_I woke up early when I realized that the sheets were wet, and for a minute I was wondering if Ledah maybe hadn't managed to get outside fast enough (or woken up to get outside at all), which would be understandable as he's so sick. But I came to my senses well enough, and this isn't piss or even semen (which would also be reasonable, although neither of us have come in our sleep for years now). It's sweat. Ledah's hit the night sweats, and only victims who die get those. He's already dehydrated, and barely even conscious enough to drink from my hands or a drip-rag. No wonder his skin felt clammy yesterday._

_Oh, fuck. I don't want him to go like this._

_Gods, grant my Ledah dignity if he has to be taken away from me! All his life, through the days he ran from his own parents to the relative security of my child's bed to the two times he cheated death to before he fell to this damn disease, dignity was the one thing he always kept hold of. I won't _let _this stupid plague make a mockery of everything he's stood for up until now._

_Ledah… hang onto yourself, just a little bit longer…_

_Later_

_What the hell is happening to me?_

_I don't think this is the plague. It could be, but I have no idea._

_My head feels weird and fuzzy, and it has ever since I woke up, like there's something big and heavy sitting on the thoughts I try to get out. Maybe it's just because I haven't eaten anything for a while. But if I try to look back over the day, there are these odd blank spots, and that's kind of scary._

_Going down to the creek to get Ledah some water, I got a good look at my face in the reflection there. I look tired and haggard and sad, but other than that completely fine, unlike my poor dear wasting away in bed. I actually look like I'm getting better, and I don't want that. If this damn plague is going to take one of us, it should be taking both of us, for mercy's sake._

_So then what is this…? I don't really understand…_

_Later_

(The following text was heavily blurred by tearstains, almost to the point of illegibility.)

_I don't think Ledah's going to last for much longer. He hasn't been able to move or even really wake from where he's been for the past few hours._

_I still can't believe that any of this is really real… that the man beside me now, who's always been so full of life and love and strength, is actually going to die…_

_I remember thinking once when I was young that all the talk about broken hearts was a silly, over-romanticized concept used only by silly lovestruck girls and writers, but I know better now. Hearts can break… mine is breaking right now…_

_It seems like Ledah's starting to regain consciousness._

_That's good, I suppose. I'll be able to say goodbye, at the very least…_

_Goodbye, and that I'll see him again as soon as I can…_

The text of the diary ends here.

---

"Ecthel…"

A soft rustle in the dark as he shifts and eases up on his elbows.

"Ledah…"

"Ecthel, I don't have much longer. You and I both know that."

"Ledah…!" Sobbing now, the leather-bound, thin volume shoved aside along with quill and ink.

"And if it goes like this… my end will most certainly be unpleasant."

"Ledah… oh, gods, Ledah, don't talk like this…!"

A short, pained sigh. "And I don't want to die like that… so Ecthel… I need you to do me a very large favor. It's selfish of me to ask, but…"

Alarm. "No, Ledah! You mustn't ask that of me! I told you twelve years ago that I could never hurt you—and that hasn't changed at all! Please… please don't ask me to do that…!"

"Don't jump to conclusions, love. I would never ask you to raise Einherjar to me like this…"

"Ledah…"

"But in a way, you are also right. If I have to die, I want no slow decline, no aching, painful, vulnerable death. I only have so much energy left in this body to expend, and if I use it up, my life will end regardless of the plague's desires."

Confusion. "Then… what do you want, Ledah…?"

"Ecthel…" A sigh, another shift, and the long fabric sweep as he folds back the sheets to expose his sadly wasted yet still beautiful body, once the object of envy of gods and angels alike. "If I must die, let me die loving you. I beg of you… come to me, one last time."

Silence.

"Ledah…" Regret, awkwardness, possibly even a little guilty desire. "You're still asking me to kill you. You know that, right?"

"I want this, Ecthel. Please."

"…I don't know if I can…"

Desperation in those fever-bright eyes as both chillingly sweat-damp hands close over one of his.

"You can. Don't play impotent with me now, love, you're not even thirty years old yet." A sad and fleeting smile casts over both of them, as they grasp at the sickly vestige of humor. "Help me, Ecthel… please, help me…" Sudden, almost tearful vulnerability, catching him off-guard in its terrible honesty. "Help me, my dearest. Let me die by my own choosing…"

After a long silence, Ein replies.

---

Their last time.

On the eve of their tenth anniversary, though both have forgotten, they consummate their love in the finality of their all-too-mortal frailty.

And if Ein has to try three times before he finally can, what of it? Understandable, for one steeling himself for the final, most painful farewell of his life…

And if their passion seems somewhat diminished, well, what then? Surely it is only replaced by their deep love and tenderness, and only stolen by the weakness of their plague-eaten bodies.

And if Ledah tastes Ein's tears, he does not comment, not even when it seems as though his lover will break down in mid-thrust and withdraw out of heart-crushing grief.

In place of their usual deeply enthralled ferocity is a rare and truly touching tenderness, a deep gentleness as Ein forces himself to mind Ledah's strange frailty, his heart trembling as he finds the skin beneath his supportive hands to be almost loose, and the tips of feathers touching their backs oily and sickly.

But their love is there, the stubborn rose that bloomed within the vacant lot which filled itself with ugliness, a sole ray of beauty in a world of cruelty.

Their climax comes softly, but runs deeply and is perhaps the most potent in all their ten years.

And if Ledah's seed is shot through with blood, neither of them pays it the least mind.

It ends, and it leaves a lingering peace and beauty over the both of them, as Ledah curls close to his lover with his breath rasping and uneven, his lips blue with exhaustion. Ein tugs the sheets of the futon over and around their bodies protectively as they lay side by side, Ledah already retreating into sleep with his childlike grip on the younger angel's body.

And just before Ein closes his eyes, he wishes fleetingly for their lives to suspend into forever in this perfect, beautiful moment, no matter what it would mean for them or anyone else.

They sleep.

---

Twenty-fifth of twelfthmoon

Christmas day

The group of five young women moved in worried silence along the well-traveled forest path.

Serene walked in front, her scythe gleaming from where it lay strapped between her wings, her muscles rippling out of her tension as she walked, her stride wide and her wings themselves angled back out of worry. They had grown at last to their full size through the ten years that passed between that old, joyous homecoming and the present lack of one.

Right behind her, her black hair left loose to drape over her shoulders, was Rose, wearing a deeply pensive expression as she marched with her heavy spellbook held tightly under her arm. She had matured into a very beautiful woman, though it often took her the errant affection of random Sprite men to make her realize it. But Rose disappointed her would-be suitors every time, for she remained in love with her writing, in love with love itself, owing her heart to her friends—in particular, the two angels their little party sought.

A few feet behind Rose (and her sharply lashing tail) came Lina and Fia, still acting as the sisters they were raised to be. No longer wearing her hair in double ponytails, Lina had become a leggy, attractive young woman, finally growing into the enormous longbow she still carried with her most of the time. Her sun-warmed skin, exotic eyes, and the slight curves of her small breasts often drew the eyes of the young men her age—most prominently, those of Gill, her old Pixia playmate—but like Rose, she owed her affection first to her little circle of comrades from the grand adventure twelve years ago.

Unlike her friends, Fia had at last allowed herself to be wooed and won by a kindhearted and honest country Sprite who had been passing through town several years ago. Aside from the humble, scratched wedding band she now wore, there was far more obvious proof of that—namely, the seven-month swell of her very pregnant belly. It was only because of her friends' deep worry, insistence, and still finely polished strength that her young husband had allowed her to leave on this short trip—he, much like Ein and Ledah themselves, considered her to be in a far more delicate condition than she knew herself to be in. She could understand the way they felt, considering the presence of the dangerous plague that had been going around in Hazelwood, but as for her husband… it wasn't as though she was going to have her baby two months early if someone so much as touched her the wrong way, for heavensake!

Cierra brought up the rear of their party, her gnarled staff balanced on her shoulder, the skirts of her dress swaying as she walked briskly. Her dark eyes were hazed with worry, almost more than her friends', but she did not tell them the small piece of information that caused her to feel that way. For she had recently remembered that before she and Fia had left Hazelwood, they had forgotten to vaccinate Ein and Ledah against the plague along with the villagers…

The path broke into a clearing, in which the girls all stopped and stared. For here lay a camp which could almost have been deserted completely by those who had set it.

The skeleton of a fire, still charred, lay surrounded by a circle of stones in a small bare patch of land. Several feet to the side, half-under the protective shade of the nearby pines, was a canvas tent, staked with such painstaking care that the girls could not possibly mistake Ledah's work.

And if the tent and the few black feathers still scattered around the area weren't obvious enough tip-offs, they could not deny any longer when they saw the crimson spear propped against a nearby tree, or the golden sword lying next to it, the jagged angle that served almost as its pommel hooked around the spear's haft. Lorelei and Einherjar's combined magic was still keeping the area safe from the hostile travelers, marauding animals, and rare demonic visitors that could pass by.

Serene headed straight over to the tent and pulled back its flap, kneeling so she would be able to see inside—then instantly dropped it, choking back a cry.

As the others hurried to join her, she shook her head bitterly. "We were too late."

"Too late? What do you mean?" Lina demanded, going pale.

Rose brought up the flap again, and this time they were all able to see what lay within—the two angels entwined within the tangled sheets of the futon they had used as a bed. The sheets did not shift with their breath, as they would've had there been any at all.

Cierra slowly made her way in, kneeling beside them. "They must have passed sometime in the night," she murmured, laying a hand against the soft side of Ledah's throat, then Ein's. "Ein… he isn't even cold yet…"

"What could've happened here?" Lina asked, her voice twisting into a bitter sob.

Cierra was silent for a moment, then pointed to the crusted sore that lay to the side of Ledah's death-paled lips. "This is an infected fever blister, if I've ever seen one," she told them softly, her voice husky with grief. "Ledah… he must've died of the plague, then."

"Is it… safe, then…?" Serene asked cautiously, her voice as normal as she could make it even through the tears on her face.

"Yes… or it should be. There's nothing this disease can do, once its host has carried it to death." Scrubbing her face with the back of her hand, she shook her head. "But I don't understand… Ein wasn't sick, at least not when he… when he passed. So why did he…?"

Rose, the only dry-faced one among them (though her eyes were suspiciously bright), spoke in a low tone. "He must have death-willed himself as soon as he knew Ledah wasn't going to make it. It happens to angels a lot… when they feel they can no longer live due to some kind of grief or trauma, and they truly abandon their will to survive, they'll waste away and die no matter what anyone does for them." She brushed impatiently at her face. "From what I was told, Ein almost death-willed himself once before… that was when he lost his wings. Ledah went through the same thing when he became a Grim Angel." The only thing that saved them was the support they gave each other, she would've said if the others hadn't understood it without need of her telling them.

"I guess the only thing we can do for them now is take them home and give them the burial they deserve," Fia whispered. She was weeping openly but silently, one hand over her eyes as her shoulders trembled.

"I'll dress them so we can take them back," Rose volunteered softly. "I… I think I want to be alone for a while with them, anyway."

Cierra nodded. "Okay. …Come on, everyone." Edging out of the tent, she gently shepherded Fia and Lina away from the general area, followed by Serene, who was now silent, looking up at the sky and letting a few more soundless tears fall.

Alone now, Rose let out a choked sob and covered her face with her hands. "Idiots," she moaned, her voice twisted by grief. "You two are such idiots…

"But I suppose that this is the way you wanted to go, wasn't it…? With each other, I mean…?

"For these past years, you've been fighting so hard for everyone else, you've barely even had any time to live for yourselves… You were just so reckless all the time… but I couldn't let you know how worried I always was for you, since the way you were living made you both so happy…

"Sometimes it was like you guys were trying to get yourselves killed, you know. And then you would come back home, fine as ever, and you would tell us about the danger you'd been in and you'd laugh about it, and then maybe a month or a week or even just a few days later you'd here about such-and-such that needed doing by somebody, only nobody was doing it, so you'd be off again.

"It's not fair… you deserved to keep living, die old and happy and safe at home once your adventuring days were over. Especially now that you were both finally whole again…" Scrubbing tears away, Rose almost timidly touched Ein's back, where the twelve-year-old scars of his Grim Angel trial had just begun to fade now that he'd gained the ability to call his wings back to him with his Diviner's magic. "And then that damn plague… you two stupid, senseless, idiotic, you… you dumb selfless heroes…

"I'll write about everything, I swear… I'm not going to let your story get lost in legends and fairy tales. I'll tell the world the truth, and I won't let you be forgotten. Now that my histories of Asgard and Riviera are all finally done… you'll be my next story, I promise.

"Okay…? That's what you would want, isn't it… Ecthel-niichan… Ledah-niisama…?"

With an arm around each of them, Rose gave in to her tears, cradling her lost loves to her chest and letting herself bid them farewell at last.

---

It was the ancient, forested path again, and this time, Ein knew it for what it was.

This time, he was walking down it himself; the candle of his own soul in one hand and Ledah's clasped tightly in his other.

Although in his dream all those years ago, there had been many more people walking the road, he and Ledah were by themselves here. Ein didn't care about that, though. He was just overwhelmed with relief that he and his lover were passing together, after all.

Ledah squeezed his hand to get his attention, then smiled gratefully at him.

"What?" Ein asked, baffled, starting to blush.

"It would've destroyed me to walk this road alone," the blonde murmured. "I know not how it is you're here with me… but thank you so much, beloved."

"Don't thank me, I don't know why I'm here, either," Ein told him, blushing further. "I guess… I guess we both died, somehow."

"You're here, and therefore I don't care," Ledah said simply, then leaned over and kissed his lover long and passionately in the middle of the road, temporarily halting their forward stride. As they parted, he gave Ein's hand another squeeze and released it.

They walked on.

"Ein…" Ledah began after a short silence. "Have you noticed anything different about how you feel here?"

"N..not really…" Ein said slowly. "What do you mean?"

"You remember how badly my hip has been hurting ever since I dislocated it, in the fight with the Magi's Guardian?" That had been the creature Ledah had been required to destroy—with no help from his lover and partner—in order to allow Ein to gain back his wings. "And then when we came back home, Cierra told us that it looked like I was starting to develop early arthritis because of my injuries in that fight? Well, it feels perfectly fine now—no ache, no swell, no throbbing, nothing. And the shoulder I wrenched that time… the break in the arm of my right wing that never completely healed…"

"No pain?" Ein ventured.

"No, none at all. It's as though none of that ever happened to me. And look at this!" Somewhat wonderingly, Ledah ran a hand through his ragged golden hair. "All the white's gone out of it." Much to Ledah's dismay, his tresses (of which he could be charmingly vain) had begun to take on the paling of age when he had turned thirty-four. "It's like I'm back in my prime again, Ecthel! And just look at yourself!"

"What do you mean, look at myself?" Ein repeated, going pale. "I don't feel any different, I—"

"Oh, truly?" Ledah asked wryly. "Look over your shoulder."

Ein did, and let out an equally shocked and pleased cry. As though they'd never been torn from him at all, his wings—now mostly that iridescent green instead of the near-white they'd been at his birth—sat in their old casual fold. Not quite able to believe his bizarre change of fortune, Ein spread his wings to their full span and hesitantly flapped, sending a scatter of green-white feathers over the path.

Smiling, Ledah reached out and slowly ran his hand over the sensitive inside of his lover's right wing, relishing the feel of the soft down between the feathers beneath his fingers. Ein shuddered and moaned, closing his eyes tightly in pleasure.

"Gods, that feels so good…"

Laughing quietly, Ledah stroked the length of his lover's wing again. "You've no idea how long I've been wanting to do this. They're not just beautiful, they're magnificent—you must have at least three feet on my wingspan. Gods, your wings are huge."

Blushing at his lover's open wonder, Ein pouted. "Well, you still have an inch on me. Even after all that talk about how I'd grow."

Ledah's laughter took a sharp turn of fresh amusement as he shoved his lover's shoulder. "Six inches is nothing to be ashamed of!"

Ein rolled his eyes exaggeratedly. "Maybe compared to five and a half, but next to you, I can be plenty ashamed. Come on, are we going to keep discussing our various lengths, or are we going to get moving?"

Ledah slipped his hand into his lover's again, and they continued again in comfortable silence.

When at last they reached the great gates—which stood open, a change from Ein's old dream—they realized much to their surprise that there was someone waiting there.

"Well, you two sure did take your sweet time, didn't you?"

Ein blinked. "What are you doing here?"

"Waiting for two dumbasses to get their sorry butts inside. …And what, may I ask, do you two think you're staring at?"

"Well, I just thought that you'd be spending most of your time with your mom now you're here," Ein fumbled.

Malice rolled her eyes. "Some of my time. Not all of it, baby butt." She smiled wryly. "At least now I'm going to have someone closer to my age to talk to."

"I do believe that Ein and I are now several years older than your mother at present," Ledah said calmly. "And you, as well."

"In case you haven't noticed, you've been physically restored here in more ways than one," Malice informed them. "You're at whatever age you happened to be when you were at the peak of your health and abilities. Only little kids stay the age they were when they died up here. It's Valhalla, for godsakes." She shrugged. "And in any case, you two're just about the closest things I ever had to friends. I owe you both one, anyway, so I might as well keep you company for a while. …When you're not busy in bed, that is."

Despite the roughness of the young woman's manner, Ein found himself deeply touched by her words. "Really… it's Ledah you owe, not me."

"But you're the only two who noticed I was stuck where I was, anyway." Malice shrugged again. "Are you two going to sit and talk, or actually come in?"

Ein was silent, pausing to look up the path behind him for a moment.

"Get that pathetic look off your face, will you? You're gonna see those damn girls you always hang out with again. They'll be up here eventually, you know."

"…I guess." Sighing, Ein turned back to face the angel who'd been leaning casually against Valhalla's gates. "Sorry."

"So come on," Malice urged them, a slow smile creeping across her face. "You two are gonna love it up here. Oh, and the hall messengers told me to tell you—Odin and the others want to thank you for everything you've done in their name. You coming or what?"

And so, hand in hand, Ledah Rozwelli and Ein Legendra walked through Valhalla's gates, passing eternally into the halls of legend.

:owari:

THANK YOU…

**Reviewers, **for bothering to read this long and rambling fanfic (and making it through the 22-page ninth chapter!). To the LxE lovers for making my day with all your happy reviews (especially those praising the lemon in chapter eight!) and everyone else who… didn't quite love LxE, for reading and reviewing anyway. :3

**My muses, **for keeping me going on this long-ass thing. I don't know where I would be without you.

**Sai Roland Deschain of Gilead, **for not poking me and telling me to keep writing this time. You do not know how unsettling it is for someone who is not even your MUSE coming up to you and letting you know that you're not done yet.

**And as long as we're on that subject, Stephen King, **for writing such wonderful books as those in the Dark Tower series. While this means that I get poked every now and then by the aforementioned sai Deschain, it also means that I am highly entertained in between my own writing spurts. Besides, it was your writing that allowed me to get back to MY "dark tower"—my FF:U fanfic, "Kokoro no Hanashi". Thankee-sai.

**Mom, **for taking me to buy Riviera in the first place and breaking tradition this holiday season by not just getting me clothes as gifts. I will forever be in shock that you bought me one of the games on my list.

**Ein, **for being the cute, pokable, adorable, yet slightly perverted little hero we all adore.

**Ledah, **for being fluffy (among other things) and having enough of a fan following that you attracted people to come read the fanfic just 'cause they wanted to see you live. Love you, hon!

**Rei-chan, **for helping me understand Ledah better. And for being as cute and fluffy as you are… and as scarily similar to Ledah… and for all your little "Ledah moments". My God, you're adorable! (thoroughly enjoys being bi, as that means she gets to drool over cuties like Ledah AND cuties like Rei!)

**Rau-sama, **for being my bishie. Much as I love everyone else, I love you more. (points to Pinkle's fanpic of Ledah wearing the vest… only wearing the vest… okay, so even "wearing" can only be applied loosely, since he's got it hanging WAYYY open and it just BARELY covers) Now, why in the hell didn't you come out of the shower like THAT in episode 10!

(Expected—and received—response: "Because I have some vestige of modesty, that's why!")

(sigh) Oh, well. Guess I just have to fantasize. Anyway, though I know you are NEVER going to believe me, I think you're just as beautiful with the mask off as you are with it on. (hug) You will always be my always, mon cheri!

**Crazed Fuzzle, **for the cookies.

Music listened to during the production of this fanfiction:

-Riviera: The Promised Land in-game music (Sound Test)-

-Celine Dion (A New Day Has Come)-

-Best of Inuyasha-

-Wolf's Rain OSTs 1 and 2-

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Well, that's the end of that. You'll be seeing me around the section (and various others), especially as I'm still working on vignette collection "Diary". All you LxE lovers better get your lazy behinds out there and start writing fanfics based on that pairing—make my day like I've made yours!

By the way, I do have something else that I created sort of as a side-fic to this one; however, it is NOT getting posted on FanFiction-dot-Net (or anywhere else on the Internet) because it's just a tiny bit too graphic.

The story goes like this…

Though I'm Jewish, most of my friends are Christian, and I do Christmas shopping and stuff for them—partially because I respect their religion, and partially because I would go broke getting Hanukkah presents for them all. ;-; I'm poor. Anyway, one of my friends was bothering me (and had been for a while) to let Ledah pitch for a while in this fic (she's been reading printed copies because she's too lazy to go on FF-Net). Since I didn't have any more space for lemons, I wrote her a separate one about the first night Ein let Ledah be the seme, as is referenced briefly in the epilogue, for her Christmas gift. It's about nine pages long, and is mostly smut (although it DOES have a plot, because plotless lemons irk me!).

So why am I telling you this? ('Cause I know that certain readers out there will be howling because they can't get at it online!)

Well, if you really want this lemon, PM me about it—and make sure to leave me an email address I can send it to. You'll have to set the email itself up like (your name) at (provider-dot-whatever) so that the stupid site doesn't eat it like it does most other links, so be careful about that. The lemon was written using Microsoft Word, so it may not be compatible with your program. But if it is, the more power to ya. If you give me a usable email address (that won't delete my reply as spam), I'll send the lemon to you as an attachment.

And I had just BETTER not get buried under lemon requests! If you don't get it the first time, too bad. This isn't a damn delivery service.

'Kay? Good!

I'll see you when I see you. Thanks for sticking around for so long, all. Long days and pleasant nights to each of you. (bows)

-Feral Phoenix


End file.
